Harry Potter: The RPG
by britael
Summary: After his self-sacrifice Harry is faced with a choice, stay in limbo or play a RPG game about himself. Enough to say that stories about a character that actually chose to stay in limbo would not be a popular one... Video-game fic.
1. Chapter 1

Description: After his self-sacrifice Harry is faced with a choice, stay in limbo or play a RPG game about him. Enough to say that stories about a character that actually chose to stay in limbo would not be a popular one... Video-game fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related, except the 7 books on my shelf. I also don't own any rights to GURPS, I own a lot of game books of it tough. No profit is being made from this piece of fiction.

A.N.: The rules described on this story are an adaptation of Steve Jackson's GURPS system. It has lots of house rules and changes to adapt to HP and "video-game" setting.

A.N.2: This chapter has been Beta-ed by SupremeEntity11. All praise to him!

Beta-ed: 01/09/2014

**Harry Potter: The RPG**

Chapter 1

When Harry woke up, it was all dark. He was kind of disappointed, not that he would admit it, but who wouldn't be after all his hard work and sacrifice?

"So, this is the afterlife?" The boy in question said in a small voice.

Disappointing could not even begin to describe his feelings about the whole situation right now. He went to the forest and sacrificed himself for the good of the magical world, and now he was in a dark, silent place, not a single breeze or interesting smell to activate his senses. Nothing.

Suddenly the boy started to panic. What if this was it? What if that was all the afterlife has to offer? Sense deprivation for all eternity... The thought filled him with dread.

He tried walking around, but there was no floor to speak of, he was just floating in his own black void.

"So, what now?" His words felt around without the slightest hint of echo or response. There were no solid objects around for the sound to bounce off of, giving the impression of a huge wide open area.

Time passed, but without some kind of reference it was hard to tell how much of it. Not too long - Harry didn't think he could stand this weird experience for long without going insane - but long enough for his mind to conjure lots of crazy theories about Hell and damnation.

Then, something happened.

Suddenly there was a floor and Harry was standing on it. Feeling the floor beneath his feet was a relief so great that he fell on his hands and knees just in order to maximize his contact with the hard surface. The texture of the floor was some kind of rubbery surface, not smooth but not too soft either, not hot but a little warm. Before he could get bored with his very meticulous analysis of the ground, a light appeared.

It came in the form of a single beam creating a small circle on the ground. Under it Harry could see that the floor was black, but more interestingly, under the light was a single object, a wooden chair.

Almost in a trance, he followed the light to the chair. The chair didn't look particularly detailed, or comfortable, but the fact that he could see it and touch it was enough to sooth his mind. After a careful analysis, it was a just a chair on a black floor, Harry looked around trying to see anything else. Unfortunately only darkness waited beyond the reach of light.

After circling the chair a few times, the boy gave up on trying to understand the situation and simply gave up. Without further hesitation, he sat on it.

As soon as his butt touched the seat, an ominous voice came from everywhere, hitting him from all sides.

- Hello Harry.

Scared, the young man looked around trying to identify the source of the sound, but after seeing only darkness he answered in a small voice.

- Uh... Hello?

- Since I found you, do you want to play a game?

The absurdity of his situation did not escape the boy, he was in the afterlife, in a black void where apparently the only things that exist are a black rubbery floor, a chair, a beam of light and a deep odd otherworldly voice. The fact that the voice expected Harry to play a game with it, of all things, wasn't helping clarify anything at all.

- Huh... Where are we? Who are you? What's going on?

- I'm someone who wants to play a game. With you. Do you want to play with me?

If Harry was not so scared of everything he would be probably getting angry or at least frustrated. He didn't understand what was going on, so maybe he could bargain something with the mysterious voice owner?

- If I agree, will you answer my questions?

- Great, I like playing games. Ask your questions so we can play.

Harry took a deep breath, wait was he breathing? Before he was not, but now apparently there was air and he had been breathing all along. Surprised with the fact that he didn't notice his new found status as a breathing creature he momentarily forgot about questions and games.

- Ask your questions, one at a time, please.

Startled the boy once again focused on the task at hand.

- Yes... Okay. Where are we?

Immediately the voice answered with the same tone and lack of emotion.

- The void. The non-existence. The end of all things.

Harry had to stop and gape at that answer. Really, what could he answer to that? Where could he find words to describe the confusion he was feeling at that moment?

- If that was all, can we play a game now?

- Wait... Wait! But... but... How? Where? How, how did I get here?

- You didn't arrive here. You're nowhere right now.

The positive side of this conversation was that Harry was now so confused that he forgot to be afraid.

- I don't understand...

- Obviously. Can we play our game now?

Pressing his hands over his pants, wait he was wearing pants? How did he not notice that before? Was that music he was hearing? Very low-volume music? Shaking his head and focusing, the wizard raised his head and looked around.

- How did I end here? Wait, no, that's not it is it? I need to formulate better right?

- How you formulate your questions has a direct impact in how I answer them.

The young man didn't feel malice from the voice, just a sort of detachment. He felt that this person, or maybe a better definition would be being, had all the answers, and could probably supply it if he knew how to ask the right questions.

- Okay. I did not got here, because here is nowhere. So how I came to be at nowhere?

- You were destroyed.

- But how?

- You were hit with something you know as a killing curse.

Again Harry was speechless. He was stunned beyond words by that revelation. Did the killing curse have the power to remove something from reality or something? He never knew anything about it. He really didn't study the theory about the unforgivable, but this... This was really shocking.

- And now what?

- Now we play a game.

Agitated Harry rose from the chair. He walked around it and could feel his heart beating hard in his chest, his heart was beating now, he remembered checking it before and panicking at not finding anything. This place, this light and this chair, this voice was changing him in some way. He could feel again, and that was amazing and wonderful, but he wanted to understand something that was going on.

- And if I refuse?

- You said you would play if I answered your questions.

- But can't I change my mind?

- Are you changing your mind?

What was all this insanity? Who cares about a bloody game? Why was he even discussing this with an ethereal voice of all things? Is this Hell? Is this the afterlife? What the hell is the void and how can anyone be nowhere?

- I don't know what to do... I don't understand anything. I don't know what to ask. Just give me a little time.

Instead of sitting on the chair the young man sat on the floor, he felt very small and confused. Harry felt so tired, so exhausted, that he didn't have enough energy to gather his thoughts.

- You can have all the time you want. That's all you have, really. Time, endless amounts of it. Are you sure you don't want to play a game?

This voice and its stupid games.

- Who are you?

- I am no-one.

Harry chuckled nervously.

- So I'm nowhere talking to no-one.

- Exactly.

- And no-one likes to play games.

- You are correct.

Harry obviously wasn't prepared to understand this kind of crazy talk right now.

- What the hell... Let's play your damn game them. Maybe I can arrange my thoughts meanwhile.

- Excellent.

* * *

The darkness came and for a brief, terrifying, moment Harry though that he was back again in the void. But soon enough a book came into view. A somewhat big book, with black leather cover blocked his vision. It was a weird experience because there was no visible light source and even them Harry could see all the details with perfect clarity. His observations were made entirely pointless when he read the book title.

In bold, upper case, gold letters he could read without a doubt:

**HARRY POTTER: THE GAME**

Surprise didn't cover what the teenager was feeling at the moment. So this was the game the weird-voice-from-beyond wanted to play. A game about him! What a preposterous thing! He tried to argue, but he couldn't make himself be heard. He tried to move around, but he was apparently locked in place.

What now? He couldn't move, he couldn't scream and he couldn't even close his eyes. He was trapped in a nightmare without the option to wake up. All he could do was move forward and see what kind of sick and twisted game this was.

The book apparently understood his willingness to proceed and in response it opened to the first page, where it reads:

"_Welcome to Harry Potter: The Game. In this game you play as the main character of the story: Harry Potter! This is your game manual and in it you can find all the necessary information for you to fully enjoy all aspects of this experience. The game system will now let you choose the relevant options that will be used during the remainder of your adventure."_

After this short and completely useless small introduction a single question appeared in slightly larger letters.

"_Do you want to enable the usage of the manual during your play?"_

Internally our unfortunate and confused hero started to ponder what this question meant. Did he want to read the manual to the game? The game named after him? Of course he wanted to read it! If you are going to play a game you need to know the rules, right? As if it was capable of reading his mind, which in retrospect it probably could, the book showed more text.

"_You have elected to enable the in game manual. As such, at any moment you desire, you can call up this prompt and have access to all the information it contains for future references. This prompt will not appear accidentally and the player must actively wish for it to activate it."_

Unsure of what kind of game this was, and confused as hell Harry just stared at the opened page of the book. In response a new question formed.

"_Do you wish to enable pause while at manual screen during your game-play?"_

The young man simply didn't understand the question. If he could, he would be asking whoever created this whole situation that he needed more information and… And suddenly there was one more entry on the book.

"_If you enable this option, every time you enter the manual screen you can look at all the information it contains, all the stats and every characteristics of your avatar and even allocate points for as long as you like without any time passing in the game world."_

That was… helpful. Well, at least he could get some kind of interaction beyond yes and no questions out of this weird book. Well, if he was going to through this weird situation this 'pause while in manual screen' feature looked pretty useful. Well, enabled it is!

"_You chose to enable pause while in manual screen. When you access your manual your game world will pause and you can read the info it contains at your leisure. Feel free to use this feature to better analyze your options during time critical moments during the game!"_

Well, that was a plus at least, though Harry. The boy didn't know what kind of game he was going to play, but being able to take a break during tense moments to just think a little bit was a great asset. And then, another question popped before him.

"_Do you want to enable save game and load game features?"_

Again Harry was confused. What do these options even mean? Before he could grow frustrated the manual showed a little explanation.

"_Save features allow you to store your progress in the game in a specific format that can be later restored by the load feature. For example, before an important decision you could save your game and see the outcome of the decision. If the outcome isn't pleasant you could load the saved game and choose a different outcome. "_

Intrigued, Harry imagined what kind of game would allow such a thing. This certainly would be useful in a chess game against Ron. If he could just 'save' a game do something, and do other if it didn't work it would make things easier. Maybe he could win a match against his friend this way. Was this some kind of time turner? Well, enabling this would sure help. Imagine if his opponent in this game has this feature and he does not, he would be at an obvious disadvantage. Enabled it is.

"_Save and load game enabled. You can access the save and load game menus when you access your manual. You can save your progress only at designated places."_

Okay. Enabling the manual was really the right choice before. If he couldn't access the manual, this 'save and load' thing would be unusable.

"_Do you want to enable auto-save?"_

This game is getting weirder and weirder, though Harry. And, as expected more text appeared explaining this 'auto-save feature'.

"_Auto-save will automatically save your in-game progress every time you enter or leave a building or a room (it depends where you are and the importance and size of the place). You can load this auto-save slot like any other save slot. This can help you if you don't save your game for a long time and then commit an action that you want undone. If you load an auto-save slot you could avoid losing a lot of progress."_

What kind of game is this? His mind thought of gobstones, quidditch, chess, soccer, card games and even the board games some muggleborns brought to school. Not a single one was anything like this. He can enter buildings in the game? What… and then suddenly hit him. Dudley had games like this on his video-game, not that he ever had the opportunity to play them, but he saw his cousin play some times. It was very rare to see his fat relative playing them, he preferred the more violent straight forward ones, but he remembered some instances.

Well, it really doesn't matter at this point. He had never played the games himself and barely saw his cousin doing it. So, at the moment he chose to go ahead and enable this auto-save as well.

"_Auto-save enabled."_

No further remarks on this one. Before Harry could think on why the page turned and new options appeared.

"_Warning: The next option is very important and will dramatically change the way you experience the game. Choose carefully._

_Select the game mode opttons:_

_Gritty realism._

_Simulation._

_Arcade."_

The frustration of our hero rapidly rose to a whole new level. What does this all mean? Why is the first option grayed out? Why… Okay, more text.

"_The option for Gritty Realism is automatically disabled when access to the manual during game-play is enabled."_

Okay, that explains the different color, he couldn't choose it. Okay now what the other options means?

"_In a simulation game the rules are considerable more complex and an effort is made to achieve a closer similarity to reality. Attributes and skills still exist and can be viewed but not manipulated in any way. The player has no input on point distribution and every skill, attribute, advantage and disadvantage needs to be acquired by events in game and time-consuming training. The questing system is entirely disabled. Several information screens are disabled on the manual and the player is encouraged to immerse as much as possible in the experience._

_In an arcade game the player has a much larger input on his own avatar by allocation of earned Character Points. The Questing system is enabled, allowing the acquisition of said points. All information screens are available, including the reputation screen. The intelligence of the player is not limited by his avatar INT score and lack of skills. The game system is much more forgiving and adapts to sudden changes on the character sheet. This style of play is oriented to an easier, more fun experience. Exploits of the system exist and are considered part of the fun."_

Shock and revulsion filled our protagonist after reading these paragraphs. Apparently 'the game' was some 'simulation' of his life. How cruel it is to take someone's life and turn it into some form of entertainment! And making the 'owner' of mentioned life play the game is even more cruel!

Refusing to select anything Harry started thinking about his options. What he could do? He wanted to scream and berate whoever created this insult. He wanted to go back to the void and demand more answers from the mysterious voice. He wanted… He didn't even know what he wanted.

He was just tired. He was still angry, of course, but he had apparently died due to a killing curse from Voldemort. This had sent him to some form of limbo where he didn't have anything to do other than think about his situation. This 'being' offered him the chance to play this game, this game about him, and that was it.

But what if this was all there is? The voice said that all he had was time, and since he had time they should play a game. What if that was all of the options he had? He really wanted to go back to the chair and ask more questions, but apparently now it was too late.

He could not come back to life and face Voldemort again. He apparently couldn't go back to the void now, not that he wanted only option he has is playing this game. A game about himself.

So would he? Would he play the game? Maybe quitting the game was an option, but then what? Back to the void? Back to interrogating the weird voice that has a lot of answers that he couldn't understand?

Maybe he should play the damn game. Maybe the distraction would keep him from going insane, or more so...

Decision made, Harry finally turned to the book. The question remained: Simulation or Arcade? How to choose this? In retrospect the decision was already made. He didn't want to play a simulation, he didn't want to immerse himself and forget for even a minute that this was a game. If he had to play this game, better remember at all times that this was in fact a game.

According to the text, the experience may even be fun... Right?

"_Arcade mode selected."_

The book closed itself and the black background started to gain focus and light. Looking around Harry noticed that he was apparently in his relatives' home at Privet Drive. Before he could even gasp in surprise his vision is once again filled with the image of the book. At the borders he could still see his aunt's house but the image appeared out of focus and more than a little blurred.

The book opened and the pages flipped very fast stopping at a page that he hadn't seen before.

"_You have started your adventure! Your game has been auto-saved. It's recommended that you save your game in a new slot so that you can go back to the beginning in case you want to restart . You can resume your adventure now, access your saved games page, access your miscellaneous options page, access your character screen & inventory page, access your quest log page, access your reputation & relationship page, access your roll-log page or access your game manual content."_

He read the passage but it did not register. He was too stunned to think at the moment. Good thing he was in a paused state or he would probably just faint right there.

After a few seconds, or maybe a couple of minutes, Harry finally restarted his brain. He was in a game where he apparently controls his own body in a replica of Number 4 Privet Drive. Now he could understand what the description meant when it referred to immersing yourself in the game. If this was realistic he could end up forgetting that this was all a game. To him that would be the ultimate betrayal of his real life.

Calming a little Harry ignored the book for a moment and willed it to close. It obeyed his silent command and disappeared from sight, returning the room to focus and its un-blurred state.

He was standing right in front of his cupboard, right in the middle of the house. He looked at his hands and became startled at the small and young appendages. He looked at his feet and noticed his battered and patched, second hand sneakers. He was also wearing his cousin's old, too large pants and t-shirt. He touched his face and removed his taped glasses looking at them closely in this strange situation.

Yep, the game brought him back to his pre-Hogwards years. Everything looked exactly as he remembered, it was scary how every detail was the same, even things he couldn't consciously remember were now on display.

Movement coming from the kitchen caused Harry to panic. He needed time to process all this before meeting anyone. Acting on instinct he brought back the manual.

"_HARRY POTTER: THE GAME_

_MAIN MENU:_

_1) SAVE AND LOAD PAGE_

_2) OPTIONS PAGE_

_3) CHARACTER & INVENTORY PAGE_

_4) QUEST LOG PAGE_

_5) REPUTATION & RELATIONSHIP PAGE_

_6) ROLL LOG PAGE_

_7) GAME MANUAL"_

Fighting the panic Harry ignored the book for now and tried to think of what he would do as soon as he saw his aunt again. What to do? What to say? It was just a game right? Why does it have to look so real? Hadn't he selected arcade mode? Wasn't this supposed to be obviously a game and not realistic?

Harry took a long time to calm down. He still didn't have any clue as to what to do. But he decided that more information wouldn't be bad. Willing option 7 he watched with interest as the pages flipped and the book displayed his written words.

"INTRODUCTION:

..."


	2. Chapter 2

Description: After his self-sacrifice Harry is faced with a choice, stay in limbo or play a RPG game about himself. Enough to say that stories about a character that actually chose to stay in limbo would not be a popular one... Video-game fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related, except the 7 books on my shelf. I also don't own any rights to GURPS, I own a lot of game books of it tough. No profit is being made from this piece of fiction.

A.N.: The rules described on this story are an adaptation of Steve Jackson's GURPS system. It has lots of house rules and changes to adapt to HP and "video-game" setting.

A.N.2: This chapter has been Beta-ed by SupremeEntity11. All praise to him!

Beta-ed: 08/09/2014

* * *

**Harry Potter: the RPG**

CHAPTER 2

"_... and remember to have fun! It's just a game after all!"_

Harry didn't know how long it took him to read the entire thing. It was dry reading, not quite as boring as studying history of magic or astronomy, but it required a lot of patience to read more than 200 pages of rules about almost everything he could imagine.

In retrospect, 200 pages was not that much when you think about the scope of the game. But he really didn't need to know how the system managed things like starvation or dehydration...

With more knowledge came a new perspective. He was not as confused as before, but he still didn't know what to do. The game was just that, a game. He was stuck in it until his character, or avatar, died. Once that happened it was over, he would be back at the start, back to the limbo that apparently was his afterlife.

Looking at the main menu page, he pondered how he should approach this entire situation. Should he play around? Should he try to replay his life inside the game? Should he be bothered by the game at all?

Absently Harry looked at the options he had available on the game menu.

"_HARRY POTTER: THE GAME_

_MAIN MENU:_

_1) SAVE AND LOAD PAGE_

_2) OPTIONS PAGE_

_3) CHARACTER & INVENTORY PAGE_

_4) QUEST LOG PAGE_

_5) REPUTATION & RELATIONSHIP PAGE_

_6) ROLL LOG PAGE_

_7) GAME MANUAL"_

Now that he understood the rules, the young man chose the third option out of curiosity. Only fair to know what kind of character he was playing, after all.

Answering his wish, the book started flipping its pages till he found the required information in a small font, the character page to the left and the inventory one on the right.

"_Character: Harry Potter Age: 10 Total Points: 0 Unspent: 1_

_ST: 7 (0) Fatigue: (7) 7 Parry: 5_

_DX: 9 (0) Hit Points: (7) 7 Block: -_

_IQ: 8 (0) Magic Points: (30) 30 Dodge: 5_

_HT: 7 (0) Mov. Speed 4 _

_Damage: Thrust: 1d-3 Swing: 1d-3_

_Advantages: (+50) _

_Magic Aptitude +3 +0*_

_Reputation: The-boy-who-lived +3 (hero, Magical society, All the time) +0*_

_Alertness 2 +10_

_Combat Reflexes +15_

_Danger Sense +15_

_High Pain Threshold +10_

_Disadvantages: (-50) _

_10 years old (-3 ST, -1 DX, -2 IQ, -3 HT) -0*_

_Curse Scar -0*_

_Enemy: The Dark Lord -0*_

_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time) -5_

_Bad Sight -10_

_Skinny -5_

_Bad Temper -10_

_Impulsiveness -10_

_Sense of duty (Hero Complex) -10_

_*These advantages and disadvantages don't give or cost any points because they're story related _

_Skills:_

_None_

_Inventory:_

_Worn summer clothes. 1Kg 0 RD, 0 PD._

_Mended Glasses. 0kg._

_0 Galleons_

_0 Pounds"_

Harry was pissed. He was 10 years old and a zero point character? Well not exactly him, in truth it was his avatar, nevertheless it was an affront. Zero points was bloody ridiculous! Accordingly to the book, only toddlers and the very old and sick have zero or negative points! He doesn't remember how many points he should have, but it was certainly a lot more than this! He was supposed to be the hero of this game! How can he do that with a zero point character?

Adding to his frustration, he looked at more of his own character sheet, gaining Magical Aptitude for free was nice, but not receiving anything for having an enemy like Voldemort was cheap! This was plain robbery!

Still angry, but a little more controlled, he studied the sheet a little more closely. All right, the advantages seem right but the disadvantages... Yes, the reputation thing was spot on, damn lying Dursleys, but everything else was wrong. Well, maybe not bad sight, or skinny, but bad temper? He does not have a bad temper! What does that even mean?

In response to his question, the book opened a little text box with the following description:

"_Bad Temper: -10 points disadvantage. You are not in full control of your emotions. In any stressful situation, you must make a Will roll. A failed roll means you lose your temper, and must insult, attack or otherwise act against the cause of the stress."_

See?! Just ridiculous! He does not have a bad temper. Of course, Malfoy made him lose control with his insults sometimes, and Umbridge, and Dumbledore that one time, and his own friends on several occasions... Okay, he has a bad temper. That damn weird voice must be laughing his ass off at this right now.

Impulsiveness and Sense of duty. Right, suppose he should see that coming. Even Hermione said that he had those 'qualities' one time too many. Best receive points for it.

Accordingly to the manual, if he wanted to remove a disadvantage he must repay double the points received from it. So he needed 20 points to re-buy this bad temper one. Apparently he had just one to spend.

Having no skills whatsoever was also a huge blow to his ego. No, what he meant is that his character having no skills was bad...

And then the other shoe fell. He was already starting to 'immerse' in it. He didn't even start the damn game and he was already taking things on a personal level. Berating himself, he gave up on the character sheet, and went back to the main menu to ponder what he should do for now.

The book diligently showed the main menu and all its options. Still a little peeved by his character sheet he decided to explore his options in order.

"_SAVE & LOAD MENU:_

_- Auto-save – 07:00 – September 01 – 1990 – Nº4 Privet Drive._

_- Free Save Slot"_

Thinking about it, the lack of information was expected. Really, he didn't do anything yet and, as the game itself stated, he just auto-saved. Choosing to go with the game recommendation he saved his progress in a free slot.

"_SAVE & LOAD MENU:_

_- Auto-save – 07:00 – September 01 – 1990 – Nº4 Privet Drive._

_- 07:02 – September 01 – 1990 – Nº4 Privet Drive._

_- Free Save Slot"_

Looking at the time that had passed between the first auto-save and his current one, he acknowledged that he obviously scored big when he enabled the option to pause while looking through the manual.

With nothing else to do, he returned to the main menu to explore further. The next choice opened the options menu.

"_OPTIONS:_

_Hints and Tips off Auto-save warnings off_

_Roll checks warnings off Quest update off_

_Visible quest starters off Simple quests off_

_Quest tracker off Reputation change warnings off_

_Group Reputation off Reputation degradation off"_

And that was a lot of stuff... If Harry had the option, he would be cursing right now. Is there an end to all this enable/disable stuff? Not able to verbally curse, the boy chose to do it mentally. Yes, he thought, I'm impulsive. Sue me!

Nevertheless he fixed his attention on the first option until the manual complied with further information.

"_Activating Hints and Tips will make the system show messages at specific times giving useful information or helpful advice."_

Okay, activate this.

"_Roll check warnings will give you a visual signal that a check has been made, its type and if it's been successful or failed. Further information can be seen in the Roll Log menu."_

On to this too.

"_Visible quest starters will make all quests obvious. Regularly you don't see them and will find quests by talking to other characters or interacting with some objects, but if this is enabled the object or person will glow indicating that he/it has a quest available."_

Well, this is useful. And I can always turn it off if it bothers me. Turn this on too.

He looked at the next option and before further explanation appeared, he looked at all the others. He was tired of this. Having no wish to continue with this boring procedure, Harry just decided to turn all the options on, even if he doesn't know exactly what each does.

Thinking himself smart he simply thought: 'I can always turn them off at a later time'.

"_OPTIONS:_

_Hints and Tips on Auto-save warnings on_

_Roll checks warnings on Quest update on_

_Visible quest starters on Simple quests on_

_Quest tracker on Reaction change warnings on_

_Group Reputation on Reputation degradation on"_

Going back to the Main menu didn't help at all, he still had a few options to explore, but tired of the emotional roller-coaster and all the reading, he just wanted to go forward.

Time to face Aunt Petunia.

* * *

The book disappeared, and the world came back in focus. In no time, he heard the expected voice of his aunt.

- Ah, here you are! Don't stand around doing nothing! The breakfast will not prepare itself! Move!

Harry looked at his aunt with surprise. She was just like he remembered, every single detail looked exactly natural. The only thing wrong was that she had a green glow around her. Really weird.

- What are you looking at? Move! My Duddikins will be awaking soon!

Okay, that was uncomfortably familiar. Shrugging it off Harry entered in the kitchen. Just as he decided to obey his aunt a small message appeared almost at the end of his vision.

"_Simple quest accepted."_

Nodding to himself, the boy went to the fridge and started picking up the things he needed to make the meal. As he picked up the pan, he saw a small question mark on the edge of his view, just where the quest message was moments ago.

Curious, he tried to look at it, just for a small text box to appear. The text was just big enough for him to read, but small enough that it wouldn't disturb much of what's going on in front of him.

"_You accepted your first simple quest. Simple quests are simple tasks given to you by other characters that usually only require a simple skill, or stats, check. You currently don't have any skill, and as such you don't have the necessary skill to complete this quest successfully. It is recommended that you use your spare point to acquire the needed skill now."_

Well, that was useful. Putting the pan on the oven he observed as the hint message left and another one took its place.

"_Cooking skill unlocked."_

Sighing, he once again brought up the manual main menu. With another mental command he entered on his character sheet and, true enough, just under the skill part there was a new entry:

"_Skills:_

_Cooking (M/E) - 4"_

Harry blinked at this. Accordingly to his understanding of the rules, a skill level of 4 was abysmal. His chance of actually succeeding at this task was really small, no, small isn't a strong enough word, according to the manual a 4 is as low as you can get. You could have 3 or less, but if you get a 4 on your skill check you would automatically succeed, even if you have 3 or less.

Should he spend his only point on this? It's cooking after all, not something that would help him later in life.

To spend or to save, that is the big question.

'Screw this! The reward better be worth it!'

"_Skills:_

_Cooking (M/E) 1 8"_

Looking sadly at the waste of his single point, he decided to go ahead and see what the damn quest would bring him.

Confirming the character change and going back to the game Harry saw the oven and the pan exactly as he had left it.

Muttering to himself he said.

- Well, let's do this.

After about an hour of hard work, he was finished. In its usual place at the edge of his vision he saw a message pop up.

"_Skill check: Cooking – Failed."_

Harry's eyes widened at that. His aunt chose that exact moment to come back in the kitchen and took one look at the table before screeching in his ear.

- What have you done!? Do you call this breakfast?! This is awful, the bacon is burned and this toast is charred, have you even put the eggs in the pan? They're raw!

She continued along the same lines, but he wasn't paying attention. He spent his single point on the damn skill, and still hadn't succeeded at cooking a simple breakfast?! How fair was that!? And to pound the final nail in the coffin, another information window popped up.

"_Quest failed. Reputation with Petunia Dursley -2 points."_

Annoyed, he brought the manual up and looked at his available options. Choosing the Roll Log the pages flipped to the correct place as required.

"_Roll History:_

_Skill-check: Cooking, modifier +2 (simple task). Roll 13(10) = fail." _

An hour's work wasted, he was really pissed. The worst part was that he didn't even notice that he was doing that bad until he finished it. 'Not realistic at all, but I had to choose arcade mode, right?'

Closing the manual, he returned to the game world and to his aunt's marvelous speech.

- … And you are supposed to know how to do a simple thing like cooking breakfast! Really, how hard can it be? You've being doing it for years! This got to be on purpose!

Just as he thought that this could not get any worse, his uncle arrived.

- What is going on? What is this smell? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FOOD? FREAK, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

Now there were two adults screaming at him. To add to his misery, another message prompted at the usual place.

"_Reputation with Vernon Dursley -2 points."_

Removing his glasses and covering his face with his hands, Harry simply tried to ignore the two very upset adults in front of him. When he though that his luck couldn't get any worse, Dudley arrived.

"_Reputation with Dudley Dursley -2 points."_

He barely heard the first word of his cousin before he brought forward the manual.

'Okay' Harry thought to himself. 'I know the three will be waiting for me when I resume, but this silence is priceless right now.'

Enjoying the soundless environment for a moment Harry contemplated what to do. He really should go back and face the problem right on, but he really didn't want to.

'Hum... what if?'

* * *

"_Game loaded."_

Crossing his metaphorical fingers Harry resumed the game.

- Ah, here you are! Don't stand around doing nothing! The breakfast will not prepare itself! Move!

Looking at his aunt he noticed that she has the same green glow as before, which meant that it had worked. Happily, he went on his way to retrieve the ingredients from the fridge, ignoring the messages that appeared at the corner of his view.

Another hour of diligent work and...

"_Skill check: Cooking – Failed."_

-Oh god, why me?

The screams of his aunt were only interrupted by the message popping up.

"_Quest failed. Reputation with Petunia Dursley -2 points."_

Before his uncle had the opportunity to arrive, Harry again called the manual.

Resigned he looked at the Roll Log page.

"_Roll History:_

_Skill-check: Cooking, modifier +2 (simple task). Roll 8(6) = fail."_

'Wait, what?' The young man though surprised.

Quickly he went to the character screen and looked in the skill section.

"_Skills:_

_Cooking (M/E) - 4"_

And without a doubt, he still had an unspent character point at the top right of his character sheet.

* * *

"_Game loaded."_

Harry just turned in the direction of his glowing aunt and waited.

- Ah, here you are! Don't stand around doing nothing! The breakfast will not prepare itself! Move!

For a moment our protagonist considered what would happen if he simply ran away. But he thought better of it and decided that he would win this shit no matter what.

The same hint came, the same message about unlocking the cooking skill appeared and then Harry entered the manual main menu to assign his single point into the cooking skill.

Another hour later, a very impatient young boy expected anxiously for a message appear.

"_Skill check: Cooking – Failed."_

- Oh, for the love of...

- What have you done!? Do you call this breakfast! This is awful, the bacon is burned and this toast is charred, have you even put this eggs in the pan? They're raw!

"_Quest failed. Reputation with Petunia Dursley -2 points."_

This time when the manual opened the Roll Log Page was already selected.

"_Roll History:_

_Skill-check: Cooking, modifier +2 (simple task). Roll 14(10) = fail."_

'Figures...' Still upset he chooses the Save & Load Page.

* * *

"_Game loaded."_

This time he would do it right, he was feeling it. But something different happened... Are the curtains on fire?

"_Skill check: Cooking – Critical Failure."_

The fire alarm was beeping madly while the flames were spreading quickly over the white fabric. His aunt entered the kitchen screaming something unintelligible and shoving Harry out of the way.

- VERNON! VERNON! HELP VERNON! WE GOT TO SAVE DUDLEY! MY DUDDIKINS, DUDDIKINS!

-WHAT HAVE YOU DONE NOW BOY!

The fat man went to the windows and started bellowing with all his might asking for help, the phone completely forgotten.

From the ground Harry only covered his face with his hands while the smoke was rapidly filling the kitchen.

* * *

"_Game loaded."_

'4 hours dedicated entirely to making a simple breakfast. This is completely unacceptable.' Harry was beyond pissed, just the idea that he had at least one more hour of making breakfast was almost unbearable.

And to think that he might still have more skill fails. There should be a way for him to improve his odds.

Looking at his character sheet and cursing his zero total points he keep on waiting for an idea to form.

"_Character: Harry Potter Age: 10 Total Points: 0 Unspent: 1_

_ST: 7 (0) Fatigue: (7) 7 Parry: 5_

_DX: 9 (0) Hit Points: (7) 7 Block: -_

_IQ: 8 (0) Magic Points: (30) 30 Dodge: 5_

_HT: 7 (0) Mov. Speed 4 _

_Damage: Thrust: 1d-3 Swing: 1d-3_

_Advantages: (+50) _

_Magic Aptitude +3 +0*_

_Reputation: The-boy-who-lived +3 (hero, Magical society, All the time) +0*_

_Alertness 2 +10_

_Combat Reflexes +15_

_Danger Sense +15_

_High Pain Threshold +10_

_Disadvantages: (-50) _

_10 years old (-3 ST, -1 DX, -2 IQ, -3 HT) -0*_

_Curse Scar -0*_

_Enemy: The Dark Lord -0*_

_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time) -5_

_Bad Sight -10_

_Skinny -5_

_Bad Temper -10_

_Impulsiveness -10_

_Sense of duty (Hero Complex) -10_

_Skills:_

_None_

_Inventory:_

_Worn summer clothes. 1Kg 0 RD, 0 PD._

_Mended Glasses. 0kg._

_0 Galleons_

_0 Pounds"_

'If only the curse scar or the enemy had given me a few points...' He knew that these disadvantages alone would be enough to buy what he received as a 'free' advantage with points left.

And then it hit him, he could get another disadvantage. But then what? He would spend his points on cooking? How many cooking quests are there? Should he do it?

Knowing his possibilities, but not willing to compromise that many points to a skill that has very few uses, he decided to look at the advantage section and see if anything stood out.

'Absolute direction, Absolute timing, Acute Hearing...' Nothing that could help him, going down the list...'Common sense? Yeah, right, like that would help with anything...' Down a few more names. 'Eidetic Memory? Now we're talking... But 30 points is a lot... Maybe some other.' By the letter L he finally found what he was looking for.

"_Luck: +15 or +30 Advantage – Some people are just born lucky. Once per every hour you may make up to three rolls for some one thing, and then take the best one! If you choose the extraordinary luck you can use it once per every half-hour."_

'Okay, it's decided, I need this.' Now all he had to do was choose a 15 points disadvantage. How bad can it be?

'Hum... Odious Personal Habits can go up to -15, let's see... Nope, don't think exposing myself to passing people will make many friends, or other similar things. Social Stigma? Like I need more things to make people hate me.'

That ended the social disadvantages that could net the needed 15 points, going over the physical ones was even worse.

'Deafness, Dwarfism, Epilepsy... I can't believe being a eunuch nets only 5 points!' Things like one eyed, one handed kept popping up, to the horror of our young hero.

'Maybe a mental disadvantage...' The first one, Absent-Mindedness, stood before him and he seriously considered it before being disregarded. 'This is exactly the kind of thing that can get me killed.'

'Addiction, alcoholism, berserk... Damn they're all awful!' His metaphorical eyes widened at the sight of the Combat Paralysis one.

'Compulsive Behavior, no thanks, I have enough mad Potter references as it is.' And as such all were being discarded one after another, all in alphabetical order.

'Honesty is a disadvantage? It is promising, I don't mind being honest...' As soon as he though this words he remembered how being completely honest would make his life a lot more difficult. In his last life he stole ingredients, trespassed, and helped a fugitive escape, all in his first few years of schooling...

And then it came.

"_Lecherousness: - 15 disadvantage – You suffer from an unusually strong desire for romance. Whenever in more than the briefest contact with an attractive member of the opposite sex, you must roll vs. Will (at a -5 if the other person is Beautiful, or a -10 if Very Beautiful). A failed roll means you must make a "pass," using whatever wiles or skills you can bring to bear. You must then suffer the consequences of your actions, successful or not... physical retribution, jail, communicable disease, or (possibly) an adoring new friend. "_

In his last life Harry had little, very little, involvement with the fairer sex in a romantic setup. Some people would even call him shy. The fact was that this was not true, he was not shy, he was just unused to all the flirting required, and with the constant threat to his life, he had never had the opportunity to develop this side of his life. In the end he entered into a relationship with the sister of his best friend, not exactly what someone would call daring.

That would be interesting.

* * *

"_Character: Harry Potter Age: 10 Total Points: 1 Unspent: 0_

_ST: 7 (0) Fatigue: (7) 7 Parry: 5_

_DX: 9 (0) Hit Points: (7) 7 Block: -_

_IQ: 8 (0) Magic Points: (30) 30 Dodge: 5_

_HT: 7 (0) Mov. Speed 4 _

_Damage: Thrust: 1d-3 Swing: 1d-3_

_Advantages: (+65) _

_Magic Aptitude +3 +0*_

_Reputation: The-boy-who-lived +3 (hero, Magical society, All the time) +0*_

_Alertness 2 +10_

_Combat Reflexes +15_

_Danger Sense +15_

_High Pain Threshold +10_

_Luck +15_

_Disadvantages: (-65) _

_10 years old (-3 ST, -1 DX, -2 IQ, -3 HT) -0*_

_Curse Scar -0*_

_Enemy: The Dark Lord -0*_

_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time) -5_

_Bad Sight -10_

_Skinny -5_

_Bad Temper -10_

_Impulsiveness -10_

_Lecherousness -15_

_Sense of duty (Hero Complex) -10_

_*These advantages and disadvantages don't give or cost any points because they're story related _

_Skills:_

_Cooking (M/E) 1 8_

_Inventory:_

_Worn summer clothes. 1Kg 0 RD, 0 PD._

_Mended Glasses. 0kg._

_0 Galleons_

_0 Pounds"_


	3. Chapter 3

Description: After his self-sacrifice Harry is faced with a choice, stay in limbo or play a RPG game about himself. Enough to say that stories about a character that actually chose to stay in limbo would not be a popular one... Video-game fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related, except the 7 books on my shelf. I also don't own any rights to GURPS, I own a lot of game books of it tough. No profit is being made from this piece of fiction.

A.N.: I like to ask for forgiveness to anyone who ever spoke English, it's not my first language and that is why you'll probably find lots of errors in my writing. This story is much an exercise for my writing in English skills as anything else.

A.N.2: The rules described on this story are an adaptation of Steve Jackson's GURPS system. It has lots of house rules and changes to adapt to HP and "video-game" setting.

A.N.3: If you liked the story and are up for Betaing it, please make contact. I admit that a Beta would be a dream-come-true at this point.

A.N.4: I want to thanks everyone that is following my fic and/or have favored it. But my special thanks go to the reviewers. Thank you guys, you are the best!

**Harry Potter: The RPG**

Chapter 3

"_Lucky used. Skill check: Cooking – Success."_

And looking at the table, the boy grinned. The food looks very good, the smell was very appetizing, and he could find nothing wrong to his aunt bitch about. It may have taken him 5 hours and 5 tries to get it right, but he had done it. As in cue with the last dish being put on the table, his aunt entered the kitchen.

- You're done? Hum… looks about right. Well, sit down Vernon and Dudley are coming in a minute.

"_Quest Completed. Reputation with Petunia Dursley +2 points."_

'That was it? Where was the reward?' Harry though while sitting at his place at the table. 'That can't be right, I read that my reward was coming in the form of Character points!'

Calling up the manual Harry starred at the main menu looking for the source of the problem.

"_HARRY POTTER: THE GAME_

_MAIN MENU:_

_1) SAVE AND LOAD PAGE_

_2) OPTIONS PAGE_

_3) CHARACTER & INVENTORY PAGE_

_4) QUEST LOG PAGE_

_5) REPUTATION & RELATIONSHIP PAGE_

_6) ROLL LOG PAGE_

_7) GAME MANUAL"_

'Well, let's log at the quest log menu.' And, as he desired the book flipped to the selected page.

"_Quest Log:_

_1) Active Quests: (1)_

_2) Failed Quests: (0)_

_3) Completed Quests: (0)"_

Selecting the first option, the book showed a new entry.

"_Active Quests:_

_Make Breakfast for aunt Petunia – Status: Completed – Reward unclaimed, claim now?"_

'Well, that is not very practical.' Nevertheless he decided to claim his reward.

Just as he decided on this, a new entry appeared.

"_Reward claimed: ½ character point gained. ½ pointed invested on the skill: Cooking."_

'Half a point! A single half point! Mother-f…' The frustration of our protagonist exploded in a long chain of mental profanities. It's best to say that it took him a while to finally calm down.

Just to confirm his new status he opened his Character Sheet and looked at the top and, sure enough his total points and unspent points both increased by half a point each. At the bottom he could see that his cooking skill has a one and a half point invested, his skill level, however, remained the same as before.

'Not enough to increase another level…' Harry may be calmer, but overall he was still pissed. He spent a whole character point on the skill and only received half of one as reward. It doesn't matter that he gained another half invested on the skill itself. Cooking was not a very useful skill overall.

Deciding that he was not going to load the game and spend another hour making breakfast, he just resumed the game.

His uncle took a few minutes to arrive and after him, Dudley. Both sat down without any comment and started eating. Accordingly to the unwritten house rules, his aunt then grabbed some food, followed by Harry.

The dark haired boy was still peeved by the whole half point business and in his frustration he noticed that both his uncle and cousin were not even grateful for the breakfast. When he screwed up on the skill checks the other times he clearly remembered the reputation decrease with them, now that he did everything right, nothing. He was curious about how much an increase of 2 points means, after all it could be a lot, or almost nothing, depending on the reference. He was just annoyed at the game engine at the moment and didn't want to open the manual right now.

After finishing his small portion and waiting for his uncle and cousin finish theirs gigantic ones Harry had the opportunity to look to the calendar fixed on the fridge door. According to it, today was a Saturday and that means no school. That was great, he really didn't want to be stuck at a classroom right now.

After everyone finished and the dishes were put on the dishwasher, his uncle spoke.

"Boy, take out the trash, then wash the car."

No green glow. No quests or rewards. Sighting the boy just nodded. 'Some things don't change.'

* * *

"_Auto-saved."_

The message appeared just as Harry was exiting the house with the trash. The boy stooped and looked to the reminder that this was in fact a game just to continue as the text disappeared.

Privet Drive looked the same. Not that he expected any difference, but it was scary how everything he remembered was exactly as he remembered. He looked for the neighbors, but this early on the morning nobody was out there. Shrugging he set to work on his chore.

His uncle's car was shining under the sun. It was not really dirty just a little dusty on some places. Harry remembers washing it every week during the summers, in his late life he would just throw a little water, dry it and then try to avoid his relatives the rest of the weekends. He always thought: 'My uncle will never know!'

Anyway, now he didn't thought that it was that bad of a chore. The sun was in the sky, the day was getting warmer and he hadn't any resemblance of this peace in the entire last year. Grabbing the needed materials in the garage he decided to go all in.

He washed, scrubbed and waxed the entire exterior. He used the vacuum cleaner on the seats and in the floor. He even emptied the ash trays and polished the car panel. He's done the job like he's done the maintenance of his own broom. The car looked brand new.

"_Reputation with Vernon Dursley +5 points."_

- Well, boy, since you appear to have finished. You can leave now. Don't bother your aunt or me! I don't want to see you till lunchtime!

Harry just looked at his uncle while he entered the house and closed the door behind him. '+5 reputation points? Hum…'

The manual opened, already in the Relationship & Reputation page.

"_Relationship: Group Reputation:_

_Petunia Dursley -798 Little Whinging -500_

_Vernon Dursley -795_

_Dudley Dursley -500"_

'In retrospect, 5 points was not that much. And if it goes into the negatives, it probably goes way up into the positive numbers too...' With this thought the boy resumed the game.

As he walked on the street he could not stop thinking about this new information. His family dislike for him was registered in a single number, and he could modify it by his actions. It was a concept that boggled his mind.

Other than that, it was becoming increasing difficult to distance himself from this 'game'. Should he even try? Realistically speaking, what was left for him? Play the game or waste in the limbo? Maybe there was more than this, but he had no ways to know it.

More than that, if this game followed anywhere close to his life, in a year he would be going to Hogwarts, there he would face all the problems he had already faced. Sure, he now has the knowledge to change things. But, so what? If this was all a game, what was the point?

- What do I want?

The boy actually spoke the words aloud, no one else heard it, but nonetheless the words weighted on the air. What anyone want? He wanted a life fulfilled, he want a life with excitement, he want to be happy.

As he was thinking, he looked to the other side of the street, where Mr. Pershkein, from Nº 51, glowed with the unmistakable green color of an available quest. He just wanted to be happy and have fun.

Harry had an epiphany. He had chosen the arcade mode! He was on the right game for having fun! The green eyes shined with the realization: 'I can do the things I want. I can make everything my way. Doesn't matter if no-one here likes me, I can change that. I can now have only 1.5 point, but I will grow stronger! No matter what, I am going to have fun with this!'

* * *

- Mr. Pershkein, can I use your bathroom?

The fat man turned to the thin, dark haired boy, with a look of mistrust.

- Yes. First door on the right, next to the bookcase.

And, once he received the authorization, Harry entered the house. He wasn't bothered by the cool attitude of Mr. Pershkein. He was part of the Little Whinging reputation group and, as such, was currently at a -500 reputation state with him. He knew that before he approached him. But he was going to change things.

After his epiphany, Harry approached the proprietary of the Privet Drive nº 51. The man was simply too fat for words, he was much fatter than his uncle Vernon would ever dream of and apparently needed help.

Accordingly to him, his usual gardener has 'abandoned' him and the replacements were trying to 'rip him off'. As such he was looking for some 'help', read do all the work, in his front and back yard.

As such, Harry came to the rescue. Mr. Pershkein was skeptic but apparently didn't have that many options than to accept the boy's offer. As soon as the man agreed, Harry received the message communicating him that he accepted the simple quest and unlocked the gardening skill.

Before he started, he asked to use the man's bathroom, but what he really wanted was the appearance of other message.

"_Auto-saved."_

Smiling to himself, the boy/young-man proceeds to actually use the facilities before going back outside.

"_Auto-saved."_

Once again, the message appeared just as he stepped out of the house. 'Well, now to the hard part.'

The manual opened on the character sheet page. As expected he still had half a point to spend and the only difference was at the skill part.

"_Skills:_

_Cooking (M/E) 1.5 8_

_Gardening (M/E) - 4"_

The skill of gardening was a mental easy one, just as cooking, and, just as cooking, had a skill level of 4 when he didn't invest any point in it. His problem now was that he didn't have a point to invest in it. He could use his luck advantage, as he had used on his cooking quest this morning, but even with three chances he wasn't sure if it would be enough. He was not lazy, but working for a few hours and failing at the skill check, potentially a few times, didn't appeal to him.

'If I put half a point on it, it will make any difference?' As such, he used his half point on the skill.

"_Skills:_

_Cooking (M/E) 1.5 8_

_Gardening (M/E) 0.5 7"_

'Hum. I can put less than 1 point on something. Good to know, I could have saved half a point on cooking if I knew this sooner…' A skill level of 7 pretty much sucked, but was not abysmal as a 4, if he had some form of positive modifier, and his luck advantage, he should be fine.

It was weird working for Mr. Pershkein. He was obviously not aunt Petunia and, differently from her, he didn't just give a task and disappear to be somewhere else. Mr. Pershkein liked to talk, and talked he did.

During 3 hours the fat man spoke. And spoke. And spoke some more. Harry answered when he was required, but mostly he listened. He oriented Harry on what he should do, but, even with a skill level of 7, the boy was obviously more capable in the garden than him. At least the man offered Harry a cold soda when the heat started making him sweat.

After 3 hours of hard work.

"_Lucky used. Skill check: Gardening – Success."_

Harry finally left the last of the tools he used in the garage. He looked around and was proud of his work. The bushes were trimmed, the grass was cut and there was no sign of weeds to disrupt his view.

"_Quest completed. Reputation with Little Whinging +2"_

- Well Mr. Potter, it appears to me that you're done here. God job, by the way. Here. That is what I used to pay to my old gardener. You can have it.

Harry took the five pounds bill from the man and pondered on the strangeness of being paid for something he had done. He was being robbed, that was certainty, but if what he had seen on his reputation page no one in his neighborhood liked him. He would change that but, for now at least, he should be happy with the conclusion of the quest, the increase in reputation and measly five pounds.

- Thanks Mr. Pershkein. Can you tell me what time is it?

After consulting his watch the man proclaimed:

- 12:23h.

The eyes of the boy widened! He was late for lunch! After all the work to raise his reputation with his family, now that.

- Sorry Mr. Pershkein! I need to go. I'm late for lunch and aunt and uncle are expecting me!

Jumping over the fence the boy started running home. What he didn't see was the small smile the man sent his way.

* * *

"_Auto-saved."_

As soon as he entered nº4 Privet Drive he saw his aunt and looking staring him. Dudley snickered, but didn't say a word.

"_Reputation with Vernon Dursley -10."_

"_Reputation with Petunia Dursley -10."_

His uncle rose from his chair, and stared furiously at the green-eyed boy.

- Was it too much for you to arrive in time boy? Do you think that your aunt is your servant? Do you think that I will tolerate your comings and goings at any time you want? At my house? Go to your cupboard! No lunch for you! You are ground till Monday!

Harry was speechless. He just stared at his uncle. This was so unfair! He was a little late, for sure, but he was really trying here.

- But uncle Vernon...

"_Reputation with Vernon Dursley -2."_

_- IN MY HOUSE YOU WILL DO AS I SAY BOY! GO TO YOUR CUPBOARD NOW OR I WILL GO GET MY BELT!_

Too shaken for words, Harry started to walk to the little door.

"_Reputation with Petunia Dursley -1."_

- Where do you think you're going like this? You're all dirty and stinking... Wash up before infecting all of us with your bed smell.

Harry changed direction and started climbing the stairs. Could he do no right? All his hard work and reputation gain was for nothing, worse, he was even worse than when he started!

As he entered the shower he could not stop his thoughts. Suddenly he felt the urge to cry. Just cry like the little boy he was. There was no way that he would get what he want. Even this damn game was rigged so he would miserable and unhappy.

He was sitting on the ground when he heard the voice of his uncle through the door.

- BOY, STOP WASTING OUR WATER! TO YOUR CUPBOARD THIS INSTANT!

"_Reputation with Vernon Dursley -2."_

It was a shock how his aunt and uncle could destroy what little confidence he gathered. With just a few screams they reduced a proud 17 years old to a sobbing kid.

Instead of getting out of the bathroom, Harry opened the manual.

'I can't go through with this. Maybe the limbo would be best, at least there no one would care if I was late or not.'

The idea was ludicrous, and he knew it, he was just hurt. In the silence of the paused screen he stared at the words of the main menu. 'This is just a game. I can beat this, there must be some way. I can't give up now.'

* * *

"_Game Loaded."_

"_Reputation with Vernon Dursley -10."_

"_Reputation with Petunia Dursley -10."_

As before, his aunt and uncle where staring at him. His uncle started to rise from the chair but Harry interrupted him.

- Sorry I'm late uncle but Mr. Pershkein didn't let me go before I was finished. I told him you wouldn't like but he keeps insisting that he could not wait, and...

His uncle interrupted his movement and looked at the boy with open hostility.

- Mr. Pershkein?

All the three Dursleys were now staring at Harry, waiting for him to continue with his story.

- Yes, Mr. Pershkein. He needed help with his yard, said that the last gardener had abandoned him...

His uncle relaxed a little on his seat, before replying.

- That Nigerian immigrant! Pershkein should have ridden himself of him a long time ago.

Harry just watched the scene with incredulity. Aunt Petunia agreed with her husband, are they going to let him pass with arriving late, and dirty? 'Better talk a little more...'

- Yes, that one. Mr. Pershkein said that he couldn't find any replacement, that everyone was trying to rip him off.

"_Reputation with Vernon Dursley +1."_

- Ha! That was something that Pershkein would say! He is such a cheap man!

Should he say more? He knew that there was probably a skill to lie convincingly, but he hasn't unlocked it yet. Better stay with truths than.

- Yeah, well, he also said that his cholesterol was high, and with his medication he should not do any manual labor...

"_Reputation with Vernon Dursley +1."_

"_Reputation with Petunia Dursley +1."_

His aunt just showed that cruel thin smile while looking at the table. His uncle though chose to continue speaking.

- Manual labor? Pershkein never did manual labor in his life! The fat pig has trouble to getting the newspaper from the front yard!

Harry felt bad for poor Mr. Pershkein now. But what could he do? The Dursleys were obviously waiting for more gossip, if he stopped now he would probably be send to the cupboard without lunch. 'Perhaps a little flattery?'

- Yes, anyway... He said that aunt Petunia garden was such an example, and that he had seen me working on it sometimes. He asked if aunt has taught me how to care for the plants, and when I confirmed, he asked for help with his own yard.

"_Reputation with Petunia Dursley +5."_

'Well, all of it is true. Maybe not in that order, but nothing I said is bad, right?' As he thinks this, his uncle started talking.

- Nevertheless, you're late...

Harry lowered his head. He needed to say something more.

- Yes, I know uncle. And I told Mr. Pershkein that, but he said that you, a hardworking man probably spend many lunch periods working during your youth. That I shouldn't use you, sir, as an excuse just so I could go lunch and left the job half-finished.

"_Reputation with Vernon Dursley +3."_

- … He also said that it was a shame that aunt cooking would get cold. He said that he still remembers the amazing roasted beef he made last Christmas.

"_Reputation with Petunia Dursley +3."_

And, suddenly inspired Harry continued.

- Mr. Pershkein also paid me. He also advised that I should give it to my aunt so that may choose how to spend it.

And as such, Harry removed the 5 pound note from his pocket and handed it to his aunt.

"_Reputation with Petunia Dursley +1."_

His uncle looked at the note and them at his nephew.

- He paid you 5 pounds?

Harry confirmed with a nod, not daring to turn his eyes.

- Yes sir, he said that this was what he paid to his last gardener.

Uncle Vernon rearranges himself on his seat and turned to his plate, resuming his lunch.

- He is such a cheap lying bastard. Go wash yourself, you'll have to heat up your food after we finish.

"_Reputation with Vernon Dursley +5."_

As he climbed the stairs Harry had to restrain himself from smirking. He had done it!

* * *

The sun was very high in the sky. He didn't have a watch, but he knew that it couldn't possibly be more than 2:00 pm. The auto-saved message just disappeared and he was now looking, once more, at Privet Drive.

The boy still couldn't believe how he had avoided being grounded to his cupboard. He didn't even have to do a single skill check.

'Maybe it's because I know them too well.' And that was true. Harry knew every facet, every ugly personality flaw of his relatives. They never tried to hide it from him, and that information was used to maneuver on the minefield during the lunch episode.

More so, he had read the rules and, in a way, exploited them. He couldn't lie without a skill check, so he just repeated what Mr. Pershkein had said. What he was repeating, was entirely his choice, but everything was true.

Gossip and flattery was the way to go with them. Obviously what he think doesn't really matter to them, but informing them the flattery other people threw in their direction was a good way to gain their favor.

At the end, the rules prevailed. At the beginning, the description of the arcade option mentioned that the rules could be exploited. It also mentioned that his real intelligence and skills would not be limited by the skills of the character. And he, somehow, had abused that. In the end he had not truly gained any reputation, just recovered what he had lost.

Accordingly to the rules, your relationship score depends on the first encounter, and can be raised by positive skill checks and as quest completions. Not such limitations when lowering the score though, that you could do even by accident. 'Thank you game for the lovely double standards…'

What Harry needed was to unlock the skills to change his relationship levels. Where he could do it, he didn't know, but it was top priority right now. He could attempt to change his standings with someone with skills only one time a day, for each skill, for each person. So, the sooner he unlocked it, the sooner he could start to recover his horrible reputation with his family and neighbors.

'Since I have only half point to spent. Better keep doing quests and hoping one of them will unlock the skill I need.' Better yet was to find some quests that use the skills that he already had.

"_Active Quests:_

_Help Mr. Pershkein with his garden – Status: Completed – Reward unclaimed, claim now?"_

'Sure!'

"_Reward claimed: ½ character point gained. ½ pointed invested on the skill: Gardening."_

'As expected.' Closing the manual, the boy started his walk around the neighborhood, looking for some strange glow, anticipating the point to come.

* * *

"_Character: Harry Potter Age: 10 Total Points: 2.5 Unspent: 0.5_

_ST: 7 (0) Fatigue: (7) 7 Parry: 5_

_DX: 9 (0) Hit Points: (7) 7 Block: -_

_IQ: 8 (0) Magic Points: (30) 30 Dodge: 5_

_HT: 7 (0) Mov. Speed 4 _

_Damage: Thrust: 1d-3 Swing: 1d-3_

_Advantages: (+65) _

_Magic Aptitude +3 +0*_

_Reputation: The-boy-who-lived +3 (hero, Magical society, All the time) +0*_

_Alertness 2 +10_

_Combat Reflexes +15_

_Danger Sense +15_

_High Pain Threshold +10_

_Luck +15_

_Disadvantages: (-65) _

_10 years old (-3 ST, -1 DX, -2 IQ, -3 HT) -0*_

_Curse Scar -0*_

_Enemy: The Dark Lord -0*_

_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time) -5_

_Bad Sight -10_

_Skinny -5_

_Bad Temper -10_

_Impulsiveness -10_

_Lecherousness -15_

_Sense of duty (Hero Complex) -10_

_*These advantages and disadvantages don't give or cost any points because they're story related _

_Skills:_

_Cooking (M/E) 1.5 8_

_Gardening (M/E) 1 8_

_Inventory:_

_Worn summer clothes. 1Kg 0 RD, 0 PD._

_Mended Glasses. 0kg._

_0 Galleons_

_0 Pounds"_

Final Note: I'm really trying to beat the emo out of Harry, but it's surprisingly difficult...I'll have to keep trying.


	4. Chapter 4

Description: After his self-sacrifice Harry is faced with a choice, stay in limbo or play a RPG game about himself. Enough to say that stories about a character that actually chose to stay in limbo would not be a popular one... Video-game fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related, except the 7 books on my shelf. I also don't own any rights to GURPS, I own a lot of game books of it tough. No profit is being made from this piece of fiction.

A.N.: I like to ask for forgiveness to anyone who ever spoke English, it's not my first language and that is why you'll probably find lots of errors in my writing. This story is much an exercise for my writing in English skills as anything else.

A.N.2: The rules described on this story are an adaptation of Steve Jackson's GURPS system. It has lots of house rules and changes to adapt to HP and "video-game" setting.

A.N.3: If you liked the story and are up for Betaing it, please make contact. I admit that a Beta would be a dream-come-true at this point.

A.N.4: Guests reviews are fine and all, but it's a little frustrating not being able to respond them. If you guys want me answering your reviews, please log in before leaving them.

**Harry Potter: The RPG**

CHAPTER 4:

"_Enabling simple quests allow the engagement and completion of said simple quests. They consist of a simple test of a specific skill giving in return a small reward. However this rewards could potentially add up, generating a huge boost to a determined player. Because of their simple nature and large opportunity for abuse, only two simple quests can be engaged per day."_

'That explains it.' Harry just looked again to Mrs Dawson house and at it's glowing door. The glow however was faded, almost non-existent in contrast with what he had seen this morning, involving his aunt or Mr. Pershkein.

'Here goes my plan to do as much quests as I could possible fit in my schedule.' He should had seen that coming. If he was allowed to keep doing quests non-stop, when September first came again, he would be so powerful that he probably would give Dumbledore and Voldemort a run for their money.

The option description was correct. Just doing a very quick calculation he was looking at possibility of 300 characters free points until the end of the year. He had about 365 days till the Hogwarts Express. If he could do 2 quests per day on 300 of the 365 days, at half a point rewards, he get his 300 character points. That if you ignore the other 300 points he will gain on the skills he used.

That was a lot. A huge amount of points. According with was written in the manual, a 600 point character would be some kind of superhero. Sure, he would have a lot of points on skill that he doesn't really care much about, but nevertheless the character points gained would be a huge asset for any future conflict with the bad guys.

Deciding that there was not that he could about this limitation, the boy resumes his walking. 'Maybe that is for the best. This way I will have more time to do other things around here.' What exactly he would do to fill up his time was something he still had to figure out.

Wandering about Little Winging brought a sense of peace that he didn't have since the start of Horcrux hunt. He was on this new life, this life inside a game, for less than a day but everything back there appeared to have happened so long ago that he didn't even wanted to remember. All of it in just about 8 hours of playtime.

It was difficult not to get immersed. He could feel the soles of his shoes while he walked around. He could smell the somewhat fresh air of Surrey. He could hear the sounds of the neighborhood going on around him. And he could see that everything looked exactly as he remembered.

All his worries and considerations where put on halt when he looked at Nº18 Wisteria Walk because at 10 years of age, 17 mentally, Harry fell in love.

Going out of a blue minivan was a vision straight out of heaven. She was tall, easily one of the tallest women of Little Whinging, and fit. Her skin was tanned and shinny, her brunette hair fell down on perfect waves over her naked shoulders. Her lips were red and full appearing to be really moist and ready to be kissed. She was wearing sunglasses, but these couldn't possible hide her striking Latina features.

Mrs Consuelo Aguilar was a real woman. Harry remembers her from the previous life, she was a constant gossip target to his aunt and her friends. He never though about that before, but it was perfect clear to him now why that happened. They were simply jealous of her.

Mrs Aguilar was a thirty four year old, divorced single mom. She also owned her own business, having a shoe store somewhere in London. She was young, tall, tanned, beautiful and independent woman. What they could possible be jealous for?

He was entranced by her strapless dress. This one piece of floral patterned fabric hugged her forms showing everyone how fit she really was. The cleavage showed the upper part of what was probably the most beautiful bosom that Harry ever contemplated.

"_Will Check – Failed."_

Harry crossed the street without even noticing.

"_Skill unlocked: Sex Appeal."_

"_Skill Check: Sex Appeal – Failed."_

- Mrs Aguilar, you are so beautiful. I want to made love with you. I want to put my hand around you and squeeze you marvelous ass. I want to hold and massage this huge melons you got. I want to stick my... AAARrrrghh!

And, in the middle of this tirade Mrs Aguilar grabbed Harry's ear and twisted it. The woman was really not amused and looked down on him really upset.

"_Reputation with Little Whinging -1."_

- You're that Potter boy, right? Petunia and Vernon's delinquent nephew. You have no manners at all, have you? Let's call your aunt and see what she thinks about it.

Holding the boy by it's twisted ear, the woman dragged the boy inside the house. Before he has any time to think about consequences, a message appeared.

"_Auto-saved."_

'Nooooooo!'

* * *

Harry sat on a chair in the dinning room. In other circumstances he would probably a little curious about his surroundings, but right now he was tensely waiting for his aunt. Every few minutes, Mrs Aguilar appeared at the doorway and glared at him.

He had opened his manual and looked at his saving files and, as he expected, he really was screwed. Harry learned the hard way what any video-game player already know: You always save your game in different files, never trusting a single safe file. Especially the auto-save one. Silently he vowed to himself that he would always save when he could. Right now, he couldn't do it. He couldn't save at Mrs Aguilar house. When he tried at this morning, in nº4 Privet Drive, everything worked just fine. But now...

Maybe he could only save there? He hoped not, he really hoped to be able to save at Hogwarts and other important locations at later dates. He would have to explore his options and try to save in several places to see what he could do.

He could see Mrs Aguilar working in the kitchen right now. The door was left open so she could keep an eye on him. This way he could see her moving around. He didn't know what came after him, well, to be honest, he knew. But surely he didn't understand. Obviously he had been affected by the disadvantage that he chosen.

Lecherousness. Maybe there was a reason it gives 15 points, the same as having only one eye or hand. He could, of course, load his other save game, the one that he created on the first 2 minutes of play-through. But he really wanted to do everything again? And what other disadvantage he would chose?

The worst part, if you want to call it that way, was that he really wanted to go on and try his luck with Mrs Aguilar again. He just received the biggest lecture on improper behavior ever and he still just wanted to kiss those juice red lips. Hug her and fondle with...

Shaking his head he looked away from the woman and to the room around him. Looking at the photograph over the fireplace he looked at Mrs Aguilar and daughter. She was not much younger than him, and looked like her mom. Sure, not as beautiful, but she was only about 7 or 8 years old. Hum, maybe he has a shot with the daughter, if not the mom. Maybe the picture is old, and she is not so little anymore. She could be his age, or maybe even older. Maybe she is old enough to have breasts and...

'What is wrong with me?!' Had he turned himself in some kind of pedophile? Well, he still thought that Mrs Aguilar is much more attractive than her daughter so, maybe, not a pedophile. But sure he was a pervert. A pervert who lusts after a much older woman while simultaneously considering if her daughter is worthy of equal lustful thoughts.

'Maybe Mrs Aguilar is a pedophile. I wouldn't mind being seduced by her...' And his mind went back to the beginning of the circle. It was a really vicious circle.

And them his aunt arrived.

"_Reputation with Petunia Dursley -5"_

Mrs Aguilar explained everything that happened, and she sure remembered every word he had said. Aunt Petunia listened everything silently, only turning to Harry to glare in his direction.

- I'm so sorry Consuelo but you know how the boy is. This one has always been a menace, ever since he started walking. There was always one problem after another. I think the boy is incorrigible and I'll be surprised if didn't end in prison someday...

'And this is the aunt Petunia that I know.' Harry remained quiet, just listening to the conversation. It was awful to hear now, when he was mentally 17, but when he was 10 this would devastate him.

- Well Petunia, you sure are trying your best. I hope you can fix him. For his own sake.

"_Auto-Saved."_

And with that he and his aunt left Mrs Aguilar house. They walked in silence alongside Wisteria Walk. About half the way home, his aunt decided to break the silence.

- What is wrong with you boy? Saying this things to a woman more than 3 times your age? How precocious can you be?

Harry looked at his aunt a little surprised. She was still hostile but there was something else behind that look. Maybe he could fix part of this. At least straight things up with his aunt? 'Aunt Petunia loves gossip and flattery, if I play on this angle, don't lie and don't screw up I'm sure I can do it.'

* * *

It took three tries.

The first one he screwed up after trying to go too far with his compliments. He recovered 3 reputation points before losing 4 more. Reloading back to the door of Mrs Aguilar was a good option at the time.

The second one he blew just at the start, when he didn't wait for the prompt from his aunt before start talking.

The third he did everything right. And appealed to the obvious jealousy that his aunt felt for the gorgeous Mrs Aguilar. He almost didn't thought that he would make it in the end, but them he mentioned that his uncle never even mentioned Mrs Aguilar, or any other woman in any way that resembled that he was less than happy with his aunt.

And that had made him recover the fifth point of reputation back. He ended up eating a small sandwich of leftovers for dinner, instead of the lasagna she prepared, but at least the damage was minimized.

Lying in his cot the boy though about all the occurrences of his long day. It wasn't perfect, but he made some progress. If he keep this going he would surely change Little Whinging opinion of him. It may not be important on the big picture, but it was important for him. Deep down he was still the little boy that was searching for affection and acceptance.

'And I unlocked the Sex-appeal skill...'

Smiling he closed his eyes. Certain mistakes are worth making.

* * *

"_SAVE & LOAD MENU:_

_- Auto-save – 18:37 – September 01 – 1990 – Nº4 Privet Drive._

_- 06:58 – September 02 – 1990 – Nº4 Privet Drive._

_- 07:02 – September 01 – 1990 – Nº4 Privet Drive._

_- Free Save Slot"_

'Well, here we go. Saved in a new slot. Maybe I should save every time I come back for privet Drive and don't make any mistake.' And them the boy resumed his game.

He encountered his aunt when he was leaving the bathroom. She was glowing and, as the day before, sent the boy on his quest to prepare the breakfast.

"_Simple quest accepted."_

"_Lucky used. Skill check: Cooking – Success."_

"_Quest Completed. Reputation with Petunia Dursley +2 points."_

Everything occurred very similarly to what happened in the day before. Receive quest, do breakfast using lucky advantage, be successful on the skill check, then complete quest and receive ridiculous low reputation bonus.

"_Reward claimed: ½ character point gained. ½ pointed invested on the skill: Cooking."_

He claimed his reward before his other relatives arrived for breakfast.

After everyone has eaten, Harry's uncle, aunt and cousin went to prepare themselves for church. As a freak, Harry didn't have to go to church and was locked outside the house with instructions to make himself scarce and don't do anything stupid. It was one of the few times Dudley was jealous of Harry.

"_Auto-saved."_

As the message disappeared, so did the Dursleys car. Harry was all alone on the front yard of the Nº4. 'No time like the present!'

On Mrs Dawson house there was no glow present. Probably because Mrs Dawson herself was at the church. Little Whinging was really quiet on Sunday mornings, and Harry used to enjoy that, but today was the opposite. Where would he find quests when everyone was asleep or at the church?

The answer came in the form of Mrs. Figg. The old woman was walking down the street with a very concerned expression, very distressed, if that was not enough of a clue, the shining silver aura around her was a giveaway.

'This is what I'm talking! A real quest!' With firm steps the boy went in the direction of the old lady.

- Good morning Mrs Figg.

- Oh! Hello Mr. Potter! You startled me. I was so preoccupied with my current problem that I didn't see you coming.

A question mark appeared at the edge of his view, denouncing the presence of a hint. Nodding and smiling the boy discretely opened the hint.

- Oh, is there something that I can do to help you out, Mrs Figg?

"_Mrs Figg is a character worth of note. As such she has her own entry on the reputation page and cannot be grouped."_

'Fair enough. Let me focus on my quest then.'

- You know Mr. Potter, maybe you could help. You see my dear cat, Half-moon, is missing since yesterday. I haven't seen her all of yesterday and she didn't came back last night. I'm worried sick about her and can't find her anywhere. Could you help me find her?

Okay, that sounded simple enough.

- Sure Mrs Figg, I'll help you. Do you know where she could be?

- No, I'm sorry Mr. Potter I don't know. She used to roam everywhere. I don't know even where to start looking.

- Well, no time like the present. I'll bring her back!

"_Quest accepted."_

Leaving Mrs Figg behind, Harry started looking around for any sign of the missing cat. He didn't even finished turned around when he noticed something on the ground.

Around him there was silver ring. It looked like someone had used some kind of glowing silver paint and drawn a circle with it around him. On one side, the circle was thicker and formed some kind of pointy edge in one direction.

'It appears that this is pointing thing is indicating a direction... Well, hopefully everything will be this easy on this quest.' Not really complaining about the assist, the boy start following the pointy edge. 'It appears to be pointing to the park.'

While he walked he remembered the options menu, when he enabled every single option, one of them mentioned something about tracking quests. 'This colorful ring must be the result of enabling that option.'

However, as soon as he arrived in the park the glowing circle, and it's pointy thing, disappeared. Instead of complaining the boy mentally thanked the help and started looking around for the stray cat.

- Half-moon? Half-mooooonn? Where are you girl?

Little Whinging Park was a big place. There was the play area, with its swings and other equipment to entertain the kids, but also there was the small pond and the running track. The pond was not that big, but the track stretched all around the park. It also had a wooded area and as such it would take a fair amount of effort to search.

Not shy of a challenge, the boy went to work. In short time he searched the open areas and, after a long walk, the running track. With no options left he entered the wooded area.

- Half-moon? Come on girl! Give me some help here!

Without any hint of where to go, the boy searched around at random, looking on the top and bottom of the trees before moving forward. 'This is not as easy as I have thought.'

"_Skill unlocked: Tracking"_

"_Skill check: Tracking – Failed."_

'Damn, another skill that I probably suck at.' Sighting the boy stooped his search. He really would need to spent his points on this skill if he wanted to succeed. If it was like the other he probably had only the default level on it, and that was 4 or less. 'This way I will never save enough points to buy anything I want.'

"Hearing check – Success."

In the quiet of the Sunday morning, only interrupted by the occasional bird, Harry heard something. He heard barking. A dog was making a lot of noise not too far from here.

'I should probably investigate. Better than spend my points on a skill that I don't need.' Trying to keep himself as quiet as possible, and stopping several times to better hear, the boy found his way between the trees.

As the barks grow louder the boy tried to be quieter, after all, by the type of the sound the dog was probably a big one.

"_Skill unlocked: Stealth"_

"_Skill check: Stealth – Critical Failed."_

_'Oh Shit...'_

WHAM, CRACK! Harry tripped on some root and fell in a bunch of sticks. The noise was loud and the dog stopped barking. When the boy raised himself he was face to face with a growling dog.

- Eh... nice doggie?

"_Skill unlocked: Animal Handling"_

"_Skill check: Animal Handling – Failed."_

- Oh, crap, I should had seen that coming...

Harry didn't have the time to deeply study the dog. He was a mix between German Shepherd and... something else. Not as big as Sirius on his hound form, but a real threat to a 10 years old boy.

And the animal certainly wasn't shy. Baring his fangs he attacked the boy.

"_Dodge failed. Damage 0"_

Instead of finding the boys meat, the dog only found his oversized t-shirt.

'Crap! I need to do something.' Flaying around the boy tried to punch the dog.

"Attack check: Punch, failed."

"Skill unlocked: Brawling"

- STOP YOUR CRAZY DOG!

Panicking the boy brought the manual up. While looking at the main menu the boy tried to calm down and think things through.

'Holy crap, that didn't went as I imagined.' If Harry could breath right now he would be panting.

The boy's thoughts were spinning very fast. What should he do? Should he continue the fight? Should he load and go back with a weapon? Should he run? Maybe he should try to climb a tree and throw things at the beast?

Calming down a little he used his paused time to think. With a simple mental command his Character sheet was displayed.

'I'm a 3 points character. I'm so weak that isn't even funny...' As he studied his sheet he had to concede that comparatively he was not that weak, sure, he was a 3 points character, and all his skill points were applied in ways that don't help in any way in this situation. But, when faced with another kid of his age he would probably be well matched.

Now, against the dog was another history...

'Whatever I try, I'll have to spent my only remaining point. I really doubt that this dog can kill me with a single bite so, I could try fighting with him. If that doesn't work, I can always load and try again later.'

Using his unspent point on brawling, Harry readied himself and resumed the game.

The dog immediately tried biting Harry's face but wasn't very successful. In response the boy tried punching the animal. He hit it but the dog didn't appear to feel it.

The messages keep replacing one another, our hero simply was too busy to pay any attention to it. The dog strikes and the boy try to parry with his hands, sometimes the dog misses, sometimes the boy succeeds on his attempt to parry and sometimes the boy strikes the animal.

To someone watching from outside, the fight was rather pathetic. The dog is not that big and his bites don't do that much. On the other hand, the boy is not skilled also and his punches are too weak to actually do anything.

The first blood came out of a bite. The boy screamed a little at it and the dog tried unsuccessfully bring the adversary down. Changing tactics the boy ran from the animal, looking for an upper hand.

The animal followed for a little while but then jumped on the boy's back. Had he been as big and heavy as Dudley, maybe he could remain standing. Being who he is, he came down.

Desperate the boy was looking for anything that could help him on the situation, but the dog, once again sunk his teeth on him, this time on his right leg. Groping for something on the ground, the boys fingers grabbed something hard.

Raising again the boy readied his new found weapon, a single misshapen rock. A little too big and somewhat difficult to handle, it was still a little better than his bare hands.

It took several swings until Harry was able to hit the dog with the stone and, with sudden inspiration, the boy called his luck advantage on the damage resolution roll.

It worked, the dog whined and backed off the young man. Both human and animal watched each other in a staring contest. The dog lowered his head and bared it's fangs. The boy answered by tilting his body forward and raising his stone.

- You know what dog? I won't leave without the damn cat. You can bet your life on it.

It was not clear if the animal understood. Both fighters circled each other looking for weakness. The dog was fixed on the boy, the boy not so much. Green eyes moved around looking for something to help him with this situation.

And them the boy sneered. Moving slowly the boy put himself a little further and positioned himself over some small rocks.

- See if you like that, dog!

And he threw the rock at his adversary. He missed, but the dog moved anyway. Not giving a rest, the boy grabbed another rock from the ground and launched it too.

"_Skill unlocked: Throwing."_

And the boy missed, and missed, and missed, he kept missing for a long string of throws. But some of them hit, and one of it caused some whining from the dog.

At the end the dog gave up and ran. The battered boy simply was too tired to do much more than look while it left.

'I'm hurt and bleeding. My clothes are reduced to shreds and I'm dirty and sweaty. But God is my witness that I won this fight!' What the boy haven't admitted was that he just barely scared away a half-starved mongrel.

- Now, where is the damn cat?

* * *

Harry was not finished yet. He found the black and white cat on the top of a tree. The stupid feline climbed there, probably to escape the dog, and now he couldn't go down.

When Harry tried to climb up and failed he once again cursed to the heavens whoever designed this damn game.

"Skill unlocked: Climbing"

"Skill check: Climbing – Fail."

The cat was so close, and at the same time so far away... And the boy tried again, and again, and again... Every time, he failed.

Consulting the role log the boy found that he had a default skill of 4 to climb, but climbing a simple tree apparently gave him a +5 bonus. The problem is that at every try, this bonus goes down by 1. By the last try he had only a +1 bonus. Too bad that he didn't wait for his luck advantage to refresh...

'Well, that will be my last try, after that I'll look someone to help me.'

"Skill check: Climbing – Critical success"

And the boy climbed the tree like he was born to do it.

He finally got the cat only to fall on his way down. He also received a scratch from the cat for his trouble.

He now could add to his list of great achievements. Right next to being the boy-who-lived, triwizard champion and basilisk slayer, he now could also say that he was the conqueror of the dog and savior of Half-moon.

- Let's go Half-moon. Let's find Mrs Figg.

* * *

"_Character: Harry Potter Age: 10 Total Points: 4 Unspent: 0_

_ST: 7 (0) Fatigue: (7) 4 Parry: 7_

_DX: 9 (0) Hit Points: (7) 2 Block: -_

_IQ: 8 (0) Magic Points: (30) 30 Dodge: 5_

_HT: 7 (0) Mov. Speed 4 _

_Damage: Thrust: 1d-3 Swing: 1d-3_

_Advantages: (+65) _

_Magic Aptitude +3 +0_

_Reputation: The-boy-who-lived +3 (hero, Magical society, All the time) +0_

_Alertness 2 +10_

_Combat Reflexes +15_

_Danger Sense +15_

_High Pain Threshold +10_

_Luck +15_

_Disadvantages: (-65) _

_10 years old (-3 ST, -1 DX, -2 IQ, -3 HT) -0_

_Curse Scar -0_

_Enemy: The Dark Lord -0_

_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time) -5_

_Bad Sight -10_

_Skinny -5_

_Bad Temper -10_

_Impulsiveness -10_

_Lecherousness -15_

_Sense of duty (Hero Complex) -10_

_Skills:*_

Brawling (P/E) 1 9

_Cooking (M/E) 2 9_

_Gardening (M/E) 1 8_

_Inventory:_

_Worn summer clothes. 1Kg 0 RD, 0 PD._

_Mended Glasses. 0kg._

_0 Galleons_

_0 Pounds"_

_* I removed all the skills that Harry has unlocked but haven't spent character point in from the list. I keep track of them on my notes though._


	5. Chapter 5

Description: After his self-sacrifice Harry is faced with a choice, stay in limbo or play a RPG game about himself. Enough to say that stories about a character that actually chose to stay in limbo would not be a popular one... Video-game fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related, except the 7 books on my shelf. I also don't own any rights to GURPS, I own a lot of game books of it tough. No profit is being made from this piece of fiction.

A.N.: I like to ask for forgiveness to anyone who ever spoke English, it's not my first language and that is why you'll probably find lots of errors in my writing. This story is much an exercise for my writing in English skills as anything else.

A.N.2: The rules described on this story are an adaptation of Steve Jackson's GURPS system. It has lots of house rules and changes to adapt to HP and "video-game" setting.

A.N.3: If you liked the story and are up for Betaing it, please make contact. I admit that a Beta would be a dream-come-true at this point.

A.N.4: If you have any suggestion for simple quests, or even normal quests, feel free to volunteer them, I'm open to suggestions.

**Harry Potter: The RPG**

CHAPTER 5

The march back to Mrs Figg house was far from glorious. Harry clothes were ruined, he was filthy and sweaty and, more shockingly, he was bleeding from various places. Half-moon was not exactly in much better condition and it showed to whoever paid attention that the feline had suffered some strife.

Nevertheless, a limping Harry ignored the pain and the starring of his neighbors and proudly carried the cat to it's owner. His back and shoulder hurts from the fall and he really hoped that nothing had broken. It was a long walk and it took a long time.

After pressing the doorbell button, Harry had to wait only a short time before Mrs Figg answered. The old woman took one look at the boy and immediately became distressed.

- Mr. Potter! Harry... You... What... What happened, come inside, quick! Let me have a look at you!

"_Auto-Saved"_

Harry complied. He had no reason not too. A few of the nosy neighbors tried to pry from across the street, but Mrs Figg closed the door after him.

- It was a dog Mrs Figg. I think he was trying to eat Half-moon, the girl climbed up a tree and couldn't climb down. The dog attacked me as soon as I arrived. I scared him away though.

He handed the cat to it's owner and the woman took it from his hands.

"_Quest completed. Reputation with Arabella Figg +100 points."_

'100 points! Well, at least is that. I wonder about how many points I'll gain with this misadventure.' Harry was going to open the manual to discover when Mrs Figg spoken.

- You should take a shower Harry, go ahead, leave your clothes outside the bathroom, I'll see if they can be fixed.

Looking at himself, Harry had to admit that he was feeling filthy. Going to the bathroom to take a bath was the easier decision of his entire second life so far.

- Okay Mrs Figg.

- Try washing your injuries, I'll see if I have something for them when you're finished.

Nodding, the boy went to clean himself. As he entered the shower he though that he would love to go to Mrs Pomfrey and her infirmary right now. As the water and soap removed the dirt from his skin the boy returned his thoughts to his quest reward. 'No time like the present'

"_Reward claimed: 5 character points gained."_

'Is that a lot?' Harry looked at the message wondering if in the end all this was worth it. Sure, he was in pain and bleeding, but he received a good reputation bonus with Mrs Figg and 5 character points. He just needed 25 more of those so he could re-buy the Lecherousness disadvantage.

'I need to do 10 simple quests to get as many character points from them.' Sure, he would get 5 more points in various skills, but he doubted that those would be very useful on his future life. 'Unless I become a cook, or a gardener.'

Out of curiosity he opened the Reputation & Relationship page.

"_Relationship: Group Reputation:_

_Petunia Dursley -796 Little Whinging -499_

_Vernon Dursley -795_

_Dudley Dursley -500_

_Arabella Figg 300"_

'Hum... That means that Mrs Figg liked him?' The more than a thousand points of difference between his relatives and Mrs Figg reputation showed the magnitude of the challenge he had before of him. His resolve, however, haven't diminished. 'I'll change things. I know I can.'

Closing the manual he resumed his bath. After a few more minutes of careful scrubbing he was finally done. Wrapping himself in a towel the boy exited the bathroom and, limping, went to look for the old squib.

As usual, the old woman's house smelled of cabbage. In his small walk he also saw several cats paying close attention to him. Half-moon laid on the ground right next to two bowls, one half-filled with food and the other with water. She looked at him, blinked and returned to her nap.

- Well, at least you'll be okay.

Without clothes the boy wasn't going anywhere. As such he decided to sit in the couch and wait for the absent Mrs Figg.

"_Reputation with Little Whinging +10 points."_

The message came without warning and surprised the boy. 'What happened?' The boy was confused, he was just sitting there, he haven't actually done anything to deserve that. Not that he was complaining he was just curious.

While Harry waited, a shameless gray-furred cat climbed the couch and drooped himself on the boy's lap. The large feline started purring and looking at the black haired boy who, in turn, couldn't avoid smiling and petting him. He had to wait a few more minutes before Mrs Figg arrived.

- Sorry Mr. Potter, I just went to Mrs Limmers house. You see she has a kid a few years older than you, so I went there to see if she had some clothes that I could borrow. Lucky for us she did. They may not be the latest trends, but I didn't think you would mind. Am I right?

Harry wanted to say: 'I usually wear Dudley's second hand ones lady, what could be worse than that?'. But instead he just smiled and nodded.

- I see that Anders found a new lap and a willing masseur. He has no shame that one.

Putting the clothes on the couch and picking the cat, the old woman finished.

- Go and get dressed, I'll take a look at this wounds when you're back.

The boy obeyed, when he came back he was meticulously examined and asked to explain exactly what happened. As the boy told his tale of great danger and courage, the woman fetched a small corked bottle.

- It's just a tonic Mr. Potter. Something to recover your energy. Go on, drink. Let me take a look on this cuts.

Harry was not fooled. By color and smell he could recognize a restorative drought anywhere. He had stayed enough time on the infirmary to know at least that.

"_3 Hit Points restored."_

Sure enough, no muggle 'tonic' would restore 3 hit points instantly. And if that was not enough, he sure would never miss the familiar essence of dittany that the old woman used on his bite wounds and scratches. Hermione sure used a lot of that on him on their fifth year.

"_2 Hit Points restored."_

And just like that he was good as new. 'Must love magical medicine.' He was pretty sure that if not for the magical solution he would need to go to a hospital. He would probably be up to a long recovery and probably receive rabies shots and stitches.

- See, not such a big deal my young hero. You'll be okay.

The old woman was smiling very affectionate and then gave his forehead a kiss. It was such a maternal behavior, something that he imagined that his own mother would do, that he had difficulty to control the wave of emotions.

- Mrs Limmers didn't believed at first when I told her what you had done. But I convinced her of the truth. I don't know why everyone here think you're bad boy. You're such a sweet kid Harry. Can I call you Harry, right?

Speechless the boy just nodded.

- You shouldn't have done it though. You should have run and asked an adult for help. You know what? You deserve a treat.

What followed was really too weird for words. Mrs Figg called his aunt and explained to her that he would be taking Harry for lunch. She then explained what had transpired and that she needed, at least, to buy new clothes for him, since he ruined his while helping her.

The most amazing thing was that his aunt actually allowed him to go. She didn't even talked to him, only with Mrs Figg, but the fact that she agreed was no small wonder.

He was pampered by the old lady for the rest of the morning. He was then presented with a very filling, and tasty, lunch. And put in a bed in the guest room for a 'well-deserved rest'.

He woke in the middle of the afternoon surrounded by sleeping cats. Half-moon was actually laying over his legs.

After saying good bye to a smiling Mrs Figg, he was on his way.

* * *

The end of the day was not as exciting. Mr and Mrs Dawson wanted some free labor to help him repair the fence. Using the same strategy he had used with Mr Pershkein, Harry 'auto-saved' by using the bathroom and then used his luck advantage with his newly acquired carpentry skill. He also gained 3 reputation points with the good people of Little Whinging.

It was a 3 hours job but he arrived before it was dark at home. The Dursleys barely acknowledged his presence, but he was used to that. Overall it was an adventurous and productive day.

* * *

Monday morning was different from the weekend. Aunt Petunia didn't gave him a quest to do breakfast, but she ordered him to help her do it. With both of them working it was done much faster. He still had to do a skill check, the one he passed thanks to his luck advantage, and received 3 reputation points with his aunt for his trouble.

Everything was done in a hurry and in no time Harry and Dudley were on their way to school. It was an experience very familiar to Harry. His relatives indifference and barely contained hostility. Dudley was being his usual idiotic self and kept trying to trip and annoy him in his typical juvenile behavior.

The walk to school was also a typical affair. His cousin kept shoving him every few minutes. He also kept calling Harry names. It was a relief when they arrived at the building.

"_Skill unlocked: Mathematics."_

"_Skill unlocked: Literature."_

A hint came and cheerfully informed Harry that school was a very good place to unlock useful skills. During recess the things turned to a more interesting side when he went to the school playground.

"_Auto-saved."_

On the middle of the area, one of the girls, one he didn't remember ever seeing before, had a silver aura around her. If that was not enough, at the corner, Dudley had a green aura around him.

'The girl will give me a real quest. Dudley will give me a simple one. I just saved as I came outside so, let's just see what happened.' Deciding to pursue the bigger reward first, Harry went in the girls direction.

"_Quest Accepted."_

Just as this message appeared, a hint followed.

"_If you received a quest and are unsure of what it entails you can look at the quest description in your quest menu."_

'Hum. Helpful advice again. Enabling this option was a great choice.' Not wanting to arrive unprepared, Harry called his manual Quest Log Page.

"_Gaining a new friend:_

_Emma is a transferred student. She doesn't know anyone in Little Whinging._

_Become her friend by raising her reputation over 200 points._

_Bonus: Bring yet another individual reputation over 200 points to gain it."_

As the game resumed, another hint popped in.

"_You have the Group Reputation enabled. As such individual reputations are grouped in case of character not worth of note. You are about to approach such a character for the first time, you may want to remove her from the group so that her initial reputation aren't affected by your group one. If you choose to remove her from the group at a later date, her relationship score will be the same as the group score she was currently in."_

'Okay. If I understand this group reputation correctly, it means that everyone on the group has the same opinion of me, dictated by my relationship score. I can possibly remove people from the group if I want to personally alter his/her reputation. So, at this time, I have a one shot opportunity to remove that girl from the group and make a first impression that will be better than the group currently score.' It was a dead giveaway at this point. If he didn't do it now, it would be really difficult to bring her score all the way from -500 points to more than 200.

Opening the Relationship & Reputation page Harry willed to open the Little Whinging group.

As the pages of the book finished flipping a very large list of names appeared before him, a few of them were grayed out, but a majority was written in normal ink.

'Well, that would be a nightmare to control individually. Better keep them grouped.' Looking for the Emma entry he saw that her name was grayed out. 'Could be that the grayed names are from people that actually never met me?'

No one answered his mental question, but his guess was probably in the right direction. As he willed the girl out of the group, the book obeyed as expected. As it flipped back to the last visited page, a new entry was available.

"_Relationship: Group Reputation:_

_Petunia Dursley -793 Little Whinging -486_

_Vernon Dursley -795_

_Dudley Dursley -500_

_Arabella Figg 300_

_Emma Strode –"_

'Now, with that done, how should I proceed?' Accordingly to the rules, first impressions are dependent on a reaction roll. A higher value gave a better impression, a lower one the opposite. This rolls were affected by his reaction modifier. The ones he had were the delinquent reputation and the boy-who-lived one. In the muggle world, his boy-who-lived reputation was unknown so he wasn't getting that +3 on this roll.

'My modifier will be a -2.' He couldn't use his luck advantage on this one, Harry needed to actively initiate the roll to that be an available option. Also according to the rules, he could replace a reaction roll with a skill check. He could use Fast-talking, Diplomacy or Sex-Appeal on most situations and a few other in some specific scenarios.

He haven't unlocked either Fast-talking or Diplomacy. If he tried to use them it would be with their default value. Sex-Appeal was already unlocked, he could invest points on it, get a better chance of success and use his luck advantage. According to the reaction chapter of the rules, if he succeeded he would get a very good reaction, which probably would be enough to complete the quest immediately.

But there are other things to consider. Emma was a pretty enough girl, but she was also 10 years old. She didn't had anything going for her on the sensuality front. She looked just like any other 10 years old kid on the playground, male or female one. She had a long, slight curly, blonde hair, light brown eyes and a cute nose and mouth. Maybe in a few years she would be a hottie, but right now she wasn't. What would be the consequences of a successful sex-appeal roll on her?

After a long consideration, the boy decided to go forward with this plan. What was the worse that could happen? 'If I can keep her reputation up, on the summer of my next Hogwarts years I'll have a friend here at Little Whinging. Probably a very hot friend that will miss me very much, she will want to show me how much she miss me by the way of kisses and hugs, maybe she'll let me do other things with her too...'

Harry indulged in his Lecherous daydream for a few minutes. Somewhat Mrs Aguilar wormed her way in the mix... Fortunately, or unfortunately, he couldn't move or had any body sensation when the manual was open, and in a short time he was back to the task at hand.

Sex-Appeal was an unusual skill. She was a mental one, but based on HT, not IQ. He currently had a level of 4 with no points invested. When he put half a point on it, it went to a 5. 'I'm a ten years old scrawny delinquent trying to seduce a 10 years old girl. I'll sure have a huge penalty on this one.'

He was almost certain that he would fail with a skill of 5, even if he used the luck advantage. Putting another half point raised the skill to level 6. The boy was doubtful if this would be enough. 'I still have 4 more points to spent, but I want to use that to re-buy my disadvantage.'

On reflection, what he wanted and what he needed were very different things. His skills were so low because his attributes were awful. If he wanted to have better skills without spending a lot of point individually he need to raise his attributes.

"_Lucky used. Skill check: Sex-Appeal – Critical Failure."_

What Harry said to that little girl is not worth repeating. Enough to say that she cried, all the other kids around him made disgusting faces and a teacher was called. Several notifications appeared communicating the boy of a huge loss of reputation.

In an analysis of the Role Log page he concluded that he had a really bad luck on this try. All of his 3 rolls scored over 14, and as such were considered critical failures on his modified skill check. Amazingly the modifier was not that bad. Only the -2 reputation one was in effect so his skill level for the test was a 4. As the rules dictate, if you roll 10 more than your skill you got a critical failure. 'Getting 3 critical failures in a roll was a one time occurrence.'

Luckily he had the option to load his game.

"_Game loaded"_

"_Lucky used. Skill check: Sex-Appeal – Failed."_

The girl didn't cry this time, she got angry. She shoved Harry on the ground and all the other kids laughed. A teacher was called again and a reputation reduction also occurred.

"_Game loaded."_

This time, Harry decided to spent an extra point on Sex-Appeal. With 2 points he had a level 7 and a modified level of 5 for his try. Far from being good it was still a gamble he wouldn't risk if not for the load game feature.

"_Lucky used. Skill check: Sex-Appeal – Failed."_

Looking at his results at Roll log page Harry saw that the majority of the results of his last 9 tries concentrated around the middle numbers, from eight to 12, but obviously luck had a large input on them. 'I need to raise my skills above that if I want to consistently succeed on skill checks.'

"Game loaded."

Once again he invested 2 points on Sex-appeal before his try. 'If I need to repair a fence for 3 hours, I want to get on the first time, but 5 minutes of conversation is not that much of a deal to repeat.'

- Hello, I'm Harry. What is your name?

The girl look at the bespectacled boy before answering.

- I'm Emma.

- Emma, what a beautiful name. A beautiful name, for a beautiful person. I know you are new around here. There is no way I would have missed such a pretty girl like you if you have been around.

As the girl blushed prettily the boy smile widened.

"_Lucky used. Skill check: Sex-Appeal – Success."_

"_Reputation with Emma Strode +500 points."_

'Wow, 500 points? Very good reaction indeed.' Harry didn't stop talking. He was actually on fire! Every compliment he said, every gesture he did made the blonde girl blush more and more. When he absentminded put a stranded lock of her hair behind her ear she couldn't take anymore and excused herself to the bathroom, running away.

'That was really fun! I just loved it!' Looking around he noticed that a lot of kids were watching the spectacle, some girls giggled some boys made faces but Harry didn't care. Because a new message appeared.

"_Quest completed."_

Not losing any time, Harry immediately brought up the manual.

"_Reward claimed: 5 character points gained. Bonus objective completed: 3 additional character points gained"_

'That was really good. My reputation with Mrs Figg was probably enough for me to gain the bonus objective.' Now he had a total of 11 unspent points, he could, theoretically, save them to re-buy his disadvantage or he could buy some attribute point.

'30 points are a lot to save. If I re-buy the disadvantage I would be back at the beginning, sure I'll not have this urges but they are under control, right?' His mind made, Harry decided to spent his point by raising an attribute.

'Now, what to raise?' Raising an attribute costs 10 points at the beginning. After a +3 above average they start costing more. Looking to his skill he noticed that most of then are mental ones so, an IQ upgrade would be the most beneficial at this point.

'Magic is also IQ dependent, so raising it would never be a bad choice.' Opening his character sheet he selected his IQ and raised it to level 9.

Now to see what Dudley wanted.

* * *

Before approaching his cousin, Harry went inside the school and back again to the patio.

"_Auto-Saved."_

As soon as he came closer to his relative, the messages popped.

"_Simple quest accepted."_

"_Skill unlocked: Fast-Talk"_

'Fast-talk? Why would I need to have fast-talk in anything related to Dudley?' Curious, the boy opened the Quest Log page.

"_Dudley wants something that isn't his:_

_Dudley is envious of other person who has something that he hasn't. Convince him to not steal or take the item."_

'Oh, that will require some convincing.' Fast-talk was the basic skill of persuasion. If you need someone to do something that they didn't want to or if you need to lie through your teeth, fast-talk is the way to go.

Considering that fast-talk is a very good way to increase people reputation score, it was one of the most important skills for his current objectives in the game. It was easy to make the decision to spent his last point on it. 'I have a skill level of 8 on it. I don't have my luck advantage for at least 50 minutes more. So, if I fail I'll have to reload. Well, no pain no gain.'

It required four tries. Convincing someone to do something that they don't want to requires a confrontation of stats. In this case it was Harry fast-talk skill versus Dudley IQ. Granted that Dudley IQ was not that big, it was a 7 just in case you're wandering, but Harry just wasn't lucky on his first 3 times. Nevertheless the bespectacled boy got what he wanted just in time to go back to class.

- Okay Harry. That makes sense. I don't want problem with the teachers. I'll just ask dad to buy me one when he arrives at home today.

"_Quest completed. Reputation with Dudley Dursley + 8 points."_

Having done his good deed for the day. Harry went to his class smiling.

"_Reward claimed: ½ character point gained. ½ pointed invested on the skill: Fast-talk."_

"_Skill unlocked: Physics."_

"_Skill unlocked: Ecology."_

* * *

As soon as Harry returned home after school, his aunt dumped him a lot of chores. None of them were actual quests and as such he didn't expect to gain any points by doing them. Nevertheless, if he applied himself, his reputation with aunt Petunia would certainly rise a little bit. Rolling up his sleeves, Harry went to work.

It took a few hours, but he was done.

"_Reputation with Petunia Dursley +5 points."_

- Go outside boy. Don't come back until dinner time.

Without any words Harry left to look for his second simple quest of the day.

* * *

Once again, one of the old woman of his neighborhood wanted some free labor. Harry didn't know if this was a game thing, or his neighbors were really that stupid, but the woman actually expected a 10 years to know how to change a car's engine oil.

Harry succeeded, of course, but he had to spent his half point in the mechanic skill first, and use his lucky advantage.

"_Quest completed. Reputation with Little Whinging +3 points"_

"_Reward claimed: ½ character point gained. ½ pointed invested on the skill: Mechanic."_

Harry barely had time to get to diner on time.

That night, while laying on his cot Harry thought on his newly acquired Mechanic skill. 'Maybe I could ask Sirius how he created his flying motorcycle. Having my own would be really awesome.'

And with that Harry remembered that in this game world, his godfather was in-fact alive. With his head full of possibilities, the boy took a long time to fall asleep.

* * *

"_Character: Harry Potter Age: 10 Total Points: 19.5 Unspent: 0.5_

_ST: 7 (0) Fatigue: (7) 7 Parry: 7_

_DX: 9 (0) Hit Points: (7) 7 Block: -_

_IQ: 9 (10) Magic Points: (30) 30 Dodge: 5_

_HT: 7 (0) Mov. Speed 4 _

_Damage: Thrust: 1d-3 Swing: 1d-3_

_Advantages: (+65) _

_Magic Aptitude +3 +0*_

_Reputation: The-boy-who-lived +3 (hero, Magical society, All the time) +0*_

_Alertness 2 +10_

_Combat Reflexes +15_

_Danger Sense +15_

_High Pain Threshold +10_

_Luck +15_

_Disadvantages: (-65) _

_10 years old (-3 ST, -1 DX, -2 IQ, -3 HT) -0*_

_Curse Scar -0*_

_Enemy: The Dark Lord -0*_

_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time) -5_

_Bad Sight -10_

_Skinny -5_

_Bad Temper -10_

_Impulsiveness -10_

_Lecherousness -15_

_Sense of duty (Hero Complex) -10_

_Skills:**_

_Brawling (P/E) 1 9_

_Carpentry (M/E) 1 9_

_Cooking (M/E) 2 10_

_Fast-talk (M/A) 1.5 8_

_Gardening (M/E) 1 9_

_Mechanic (M/A) 1 8_

_Sex Appeal (M/A)* 2 7 (based on HT)_

_Inventory:_

_Used summer clothes. 1Kg 0 RD, 0 PD._

_Mended Glasses. 0kg._

_0 Galleons_

_0 Pounds"_

_** I removed all the skills that Harry has unlocked but haven't spent character point in from the list. I keep track of them on my notes though._


	6. Chapter 6

Description: After his self-sacrifice Harry is faced with a choice, stay in limbo or play a RPG game about himself. Enough to say that stories about a character that actually chose to stay in limbo would not be a popular one... Video-game fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related, except the 7 books on my shelf. I also don't own any rights to GURPS, I own a lot of game books of it tough. No profit is being made from this piece of fiction.

A.N.: I like to ask for forgiveness to anyone who ever spoke English, it's not my first language and that is why you'll probably find lots of errors in my writing. This story is much an exercise for my writing in English skills as anything else.

A.N.2: The rules described on this story are an adaptation of Steve Jackson's GURPS system. It has lots of house rules and changes to adapt to HP and "video-game" setting.

A.N.3: If you liked the story and are up for Betaing it, please make contact. I admit that a Beta would be a dream-come-true at this point.

A.N.4: If you have any suggestion for simple quests, or even normal quests, feel free to volunteer them, I'm open to suggestions.

A.N.5: I want to thanks every one of my reviewers and say I'm sorry for the late update. My life is really busy right now and I'm not finding enough time to write as I wanted. That said, I'm at 4.5k words into my next chapter, so I hope I'll update chapter 7 till the end of the week.

**Harry Potter: The RPG**

CHAPTER 6

His aunt really didn't like him. He would be much more satisfied if the Roll Log page was a little more detailed and actually described what the numbers mean, but it didn't.

On this particular day Harry decided to try things differently, as such he didn't use his luck advantage on the cooking roll. The reason for that was quite simple: he didn't need to. Studding the log of the past day, Harry noticed that helping his aunt to make breakfast was a really easy task, worth of a +4 modifier. With his skill level of 10, he would be going against a 14 on his test, a really good score. As such he decided to save his luck advantage to another thing altogether. He would try to gain a little reputation with his aunt.

After his help with breakfast, and gaining his 2 points of reputation with her, Harry tried to strike some conversation and send a little flattery her way. Pretty simple, right? The problem was that it hadn't worked. Even with the luck advantage.

He loaded and tried again, with equal unsuccessful results. Trying to see what kind of odds he was fighting against, the boy opened the Roll Log page. For some inexplicable reason, his aunt had a -6 modifier against him. If he understood this right, it means that his reputation roll had a modifier of -6 with her. And he was simply trying to flatter her!

His skill level on fast-talk was 8, with -6 it was practically impossible to get a positive result on this endeavor. He could keep on trying till he was successful, but that was not an attractive option. He chose to use his luck advantage for other things on that morning.

What the boy wouldn't admit was that he was hurt by this discovery. In his mind he already had convinced himself that all he needed to do to gain his relatives affection was raise their reputation points. But when things were ever simple for him?

"_Auto-saved."_

On his walk to school with Dudley, Harry decided to try again with his fast-talk approach. This time, he was using it with his cousin. His reasoning was that with his uncle and aunt, there was always the odd job that would raise his reputation a little, but till now, only a quest raised his reputation with Dudley.

- You know Dudley, you should try doing some sports. You're so strong that the coach would be crazy if he didn't accept you.

The blonde boy apparently was really contemplating what his skinny cousin had said.

- Hum... that is true. But wouldn't be a lot of work?

- Yeah, probably would. But believe me when I say: you are really, and I mean REALLY strong. You should use this for your advantage sometimes.

Laughing the boy answered.

- You would know that, wouldn't you? I will think about it.

"_Lucky used. Skill check: Fast-talk – Success. Reputation with Dudley Dursley +4 points"_

'On the first try too!' Harry was happy, looking at his log he could see that against Dudley he didn't have any modifier on his fast-talk roll. Sure, he felt like a boot-licker right now, but he gets a 4 points raise on his cousin reputation, and that was good enough.

As a bonus, his cousin didn't shove him all the way to school that day.

"_Skill unlocked: Chemistry"_

Once again, during recess Harry went to the Patio. No quests there today, but he saw Emma and made a beeline to the blonde girl. For some odd reason he really wanted to flirt with someone and, for good or bad, she was the perfect target.

It took two tries with his luck advantage, but he got it. On the second one he got a critical hit, a whopping +21 reputation, and his first kiss. It was on the cheek, and the girl escaped from him after giving it, but if you asked he would answer that it was totally worth it.

"_Skill unlocked: History"_

On his way back, a simple quest make itself available. Even if Dudley didn't appear particularly enthusiastic, some of his friends convinced him to do a bit of 'Harry-Hunting' after school.

"_Skill unlocked: Running"_

Apparently Running was one of those special skills the manual mentioned. Not only it was a physical skill based on HT, but it also didn't have a skill check. It just raised you movement per second by a 1/8 of its level. So, with half point investment, he gained a level of 4 on it, translating in a 0.5 movement increment. When you look at it, it really didn't look like much, but when you have a 4, adding 0.5 is not that bad.

It was enough to escape Dudley and his group. He gained half character point and half point in running, but this time he gained no reputation bonus with anyone.

Doing chores took a few hours of his time and netted other 3 reputation points with his aunt.

His second simple quest of the day came from his uncle, when he ordered Harry to go to the hardware store to buy a few tools. His uncle smiled, on that familiar evil way, and demanded that he brought the change back.

Of course it was rigged since the beginning. His uncle had given him the exact amount of money he needed to buy the tools. There would be no change to bring back. Obviously, the nature of the quest kicked in, unlocking the Merchant skill. As usual, Harry spent his only half point on it and went for a very draining experience.

Harry needed 6 tries to gain some kind of discount. 6 tries using the luck advantage, which means 18 rolls to finally win the contest against Mr. Borr from the hardware store. 18 rolls to get a measly 10% off. His uncle however was impressed, not that he said anything, but the +10 points of reputation that Harry won with him said otherwise.

Harry didn't know at the time, but it was a preview of what his next months would mostly consist off. By the end of all this, it was almost dark and Harry simply didn't have time to look for what he really wanted: actual quests.

'At least I unlocked, and learned, two useful skills today.'

* * *

Wednesday morning was exactly like the one from the day before. Breakfast, going to school and them classes followed by the recess.

The only difference was that he gained less reputation from ass-kissing his cousin and flirting with Emma. He also had physical education as a class and unlocked the Sport: Football skill. Still on school he unlocked the botany and zoology skill by going to a biology class.

When he got from school, his aunt sent him on an errand, not a quest unfortunately, that started a chain of events that would deeply shake the foundations of Little Whinging community.

The boy was ordered by his aunt to give the clothes that Mrs. Figg borrowed for him back to its rightful owner, Mrs. Limmers. He had washed, pressed and then folded it in a brown paper package, because his aunt would not impose his unnaturalness onto others, and went on his mission.

When Mrs. Limmers opened the door and the boy explained the situation, presenting the package, the older woman simply didn't have any of it. Not only refusing to take the clothes back, the housewife gave the young Mr. Potter even more of his older son clothes.

- It is the least I can do in this situation. I really hope that Vernon and Petunia can recover from their financial problems...

Not understanding what she meant but content to receive a bigger selection of better quality clothes. When he went back to his home with his gifts and told what happened, his aunt went insane.

"Reputation with Petunia Dursley -20 points"

- What are you thinking? Begging around for other peoples used things? Have you no shame? Are you trying to embarrass me and your uncle?!

And the voice got louder and louder, Harry could only look gobsmacked while the whole scene blew completely out of proportion. He tried to argue, to navigate the conversation around and recover his lost points, but he only made it worse.

Without any other alternative, the boy loaded the game and used his fast-talk skill. After 3 tries, using luck, he got what he wanted, or what he thought he wanted, he redirected the blame from him to Mrs. Figg, recovering his 20 reputation points with his aunt.

- Be gone boy. I need to be alone now.

Feeling guilty of redirecting his aunt rage in other people direction, the boy them went to visit Mrs. Figg, who received him with a quest of her own.

- Could you buy these things for me Harry? I don't know if this money will be enough, buy what you can with it.

Harry decided that he didn't like haggling quests. They may be fast to complete, but all the verbal spar was not something that he would ever be comfortable with. He got everything on the list, but he had to get a discount with his merchant skill to complete the quest with the allotted money.

On the same afternoon Mr. Zhukov gave him the quest of dog-walking his 4 huge dogs. It was a nerve-wrecking hour where he had to maneuver them with a mix of stern commands and compliments that he only got done thanks to luck and half point spent on animal handling. At least he won 2 pounds for his trouble.

* * *

Thursday and Friday were more of the same, at least on school. On Thursday Dudley had to be convinced of not stealing something again, and on Friday Harry received a quest to do an after school research project. On his customary recess flirtation, Emma invited the boy to visit her house on the weekend.

In those two days he had to go back to Mr. Borr to buy yet more tools and materials for his uncle and also a really easy quest were he had to climb on a tree to recover a kite to a pair of six years old. Piece of cake when you had the climbing skill, witch he bought specially for the occasion.

The bad part was that he found no regular quests to do.

Worse than that, his aunt declared war.

* * *

Harry didn't know at the time, but when he passed that fast-talk check he had initiated something much bigger than him.

Petunia Dursley was not known as Little Whinging gossip queen because of nothing. She was a vicious, forked tongued, bitter woman with a grudge to settle. She launched a defamatory campaign against Mrs. Figg that few on the town had ever heard.

Mrs. Figg however was not exactly unarmed for this type of battle. Almost all of the people who had small kids called the old woman when they needed someone to watch over the little ones. She had allies all around and they buckled together to face the all-might Petunia.

Soon enough, snide remarks, double entrees and word games were heard whenever a group of venerable ladies met. It was only the beginning.

Harry didn't know, but what he had started on that day would deeply change Little Whinging forever. Or at least until the next juice gossip came around.

* * *

Saturday started in a very normal way. Harry had to make breakfast on his own this time, earning his quest rewards on the way. Followed by washing his uncle car, not really dirty but he did everything as he was told just to get his reputation bonus, and them he had to work in the garden as the quest from his uncle ordered.

All went really well and the boy didn't even have to load the game and redo something several times. By lunch he had completed both his simple quests of the day and gained some reputation with his uncle and a little bit with his aunt.

After lunch he was free to do as he pleased. As such he escaped his house and walked around the neighborhood looking for some quests. Not finding any he did the next best thing, accepted the open invitation and went to visit a friend's house.

Mr. and Mrs. Strode had a regular house. Not the largest of Little Whinging, but not the smallest. As the houses around all look the same, there was not particularly catching on this one, he had a nice blue Volvo on his open garage though. Before ringing the bell, Harry decided that to his friendship with Emma to flourish, he would need to ungroup her parents from the Little Whinging group, that way they wouldn't automatically hate him and force their daughter away from the unpleasant delinquent.

So that's why he already knew the parents names when the door opened. Seeing a man opening the door, Harry decided to limit his risks and replaced his usual reaction roll for a fast-talk one.

"_Luck used. Skill-check: Fast-talk. Failed. Reputation with Paul Strode -400 points"_

'This is getting old...' Harry though just before he reloaded the game.

"_Luck used. Skill-check: Fast-talk. Success. Reputation with Paul Strode +300 points"_

They talked by the front door, and Harry just overwhelm him with a lot of nonsense, jokes and admiration for his daughter and taste in cars. The man accepted all of it good-naturally and then just invited the boy inside.

"_Auto-Saved."_

The messages of auto-saved were so common by now that the boy barely acknowledged them. This last one was particularly important, Harry would never imagine how many times he would need to reload this one on this short space of time.

The problem was that in the living room, Mrs. Strode was standing next to the stairs waiting to meet the charming boy for witch his daughter was obvious infatuated. If I was not clear enough, let me rephrase it. The **beautiful** Mrs. Strode was standing next to the stairs.

Sure, Mrs. Aguilar was much more exotic and beautiful, but Mrs. Strode was not that far from her. Poor Harry and his Lecherousness. He didn't have a chance.

"_Will check: Failed."_

-... and them I want to lick your...

"_Skill check: Sex-appeal. Failed."_

In retrospect, it was to be expected. Harry had an IQ of 9 and a modifier of -5, because Mrs. Strode was beautiful, so he had a very low chance of controlling himself. Add to that the -7 modifier on his sex-appeal skill and he was ready to a catastrophe. To make things worse, the boy just used his luck advantage and would need another hour to be able to use it again.

As he just auto-save, his last hard save was just as he had awoke, before breakfast. Getting to the task at hand, the boy reloaded. And reloaded. And reloaded.

Harry lost count of how many times he tried. The problem was not only he needed a success on the modified will check. He also needed a success on the Fast-talk one. As the fast-talk was modified by his reaction roll, -2 on Little Whinging, he was rolling against 4 on the first roll and 6 on his second. Talk about bad odds...

So he tried. And tried. And tried. Looking back it would be funny to watch. His repeated fails would make him say a lot of pretty outrageous things. If Harry was not so frustrated maybe he could have enjoyed some of it, maybe he could have had a more fun. The worst part was that when he was in the middle of his tirade, everything he was saying actually sounded as a good idea. Even if he wondered, at loud, how her skin would taste.

Some of the worst thing came, obviously, when he receive a critical failure. His seventeen years old mind supplied information that ten years old would never know, or understand. On these occasions he was slapped before he could even see the message that communicate the result of the skill check.

On one of his tries, something unexpected happened. He failed on his will roll, but had a critical success on his sex-appeal one. It was, lacking a better description, surreal.

If you had imagined a ten years throwing 'cute' compliments and being a little awkward and confused while trying to flatter the object of a young crush, rethink it.

What Harry has done was very different. He didn't break eye contact, he approached Mrs. Strode and instead of shaking the offered hand, or even kissing it, he turned it over and actually licked her palm. After doing that, he picked the mentioned hand and used it to caress his face before he kissed the inside of her wrist.

- It is a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Strode. I know we will be the best kind of friends...

The voice, tone and posture of the kid give so many 'vibes' that it was impossible to misunderstand the meaning behind them. The woman blushed like a teenager and it was impossible to hide her obvious embarrassment and shameful arousal.

Obviously all that was done in front of an incredulous husband, who would be less stunned if a UFO suddenly landed on his front yard.

He had won staggering 700 relationship points with Mrs. Strode, while he lost 300 with Mr. Strode. Yes, game mechanics could be that broken.

When Mr. Strode was dragging the obviously possessed-by-the-devil-boy to the front door, our protagonist brought the manual up to think.

If he let things go this way he would probably generate a lot of trouble for that family. Yes, he had the impulse to flirt, but he was not a home-wrecker. He considered himself a good guy and, game or not, if he continue with this what would happen?

Would he and Mrs. Strode become lovers? Would Mr. Strode let him being friends with Emma? This made Harry thinks that even if he succeeded on something, doesn't actually mean that everything would automatically be fine.

'What about the long run?' What these 700 points of relationship represent? Sex-appeal skill description had a warning that only some types actually learn that skill, the type that takes advantage of other people. Was he one of these types? The way he learned his skill means that he doesn't need to be. More important, he didn't want to be one of these types.

Unwilling to face the downfall of this scenario, the boy reloaded. In his mind he set some boundaries. He had that need to flirt, sure. He would continue to flirt with Emma, it was harmless fun, they're both little kids that didn't hit puberty, but he was not letting this ruin lives. This may be just a game, but sometimes it was just too real...

He tried several more times. His failed attempts lost what was left of their humor. So much so that he automatically reloaded when he failed his will roll.

Eventually he got it.

"_Skill Check: Fast-Talk. Reputation with Natalie Strode +300 points"_

The mood was light. Her parents liked the funny skinny boy and teased their daughter about her obvious crush. Harry avoided flirting for the rest of the afternoon and just tried to forget the whole incident by just being a kid for a while.

They played with cards and board games, they went outside and ran around doing silly stuff. Harry enjoyed himself recovering a little of the childhood he never had. When a blushing Emma kissed him and said goodbye, he couldn't stop smiling on his way home.

In the end, it had been a great Saturday.

* * *

_"__Character: Harry Potter Age: 10 Total Points: 27 Unspent: 3_

_ST: 7 (0) Fatigue: (7) 7 Parry: 7_

_DX: 9 (0) Hit Points: (7) 7 Block: -_

_IQ: 9 (10) Magic Points: (30) 30 Dodge: 5_

_HT: 7 (0) Mov. Speed 4 (4.625) _

_Damage: Thrust: 1d-3 Swing: 1d-3_

_Advantages: (+65) _

_Magic Aptitude +3 +0*_

_Reputation: The-boy-who-lived +3 (hero, Magical society, All the time) +0*_

_Alertness 2 +10_

_Combat Reflexes +15_

_Danger Sense +15_

_High Pain Threshold +10_

_Luck +15_

_Disadvantages: (-65) _

_10 years old (-3 ST, -1 DX, -2 IQ, -3 HT) -0*_

_Curse Scar -0*_

_Enemy: The Dark Lord -0*_

_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time) -5_

_Bad Sight -10_

_Skinny -5_

_Bad Temper -10_

_Impulsiveness -10_

_Lecherousness -15_

_Sense of duty (Hero Complex) -10_

_Skills:_

_Animal Handling (M/H) 1 7_

_Brawling (P/E) 1 9_

_Carpentry (M/E) 1 9_

_Climbing (P/A) 1 8_

_Cooking (M/E) 2.5 10_

_Fast-talk (M/A) 2 8_

_Gardening (M/E) 1.5 9_

_Mechanic (M/A) 1 8_

_Merchant (M/A) 2 9_

_Research (M/A) 1 8_

_Running (P/H) 1 5 (based on HT)_

_Sex Appeal (M/A) 2 7 (based on HT)_

_Inventory:_

_Used summer clothes. 1Kg 0 RD, 0 PD._

_Mended Glasses. 0kg._

_0 Galleons_

_2 Pounds"_

Final note: Several days passed on this chapter, I'm still trying to find the best moment for a time skip but Harry is still not ready. I ask that you wait a little longer. Don't worry, I'll make a time skip so that Harry will not be that painfully incompetent for too long.


	7. Chapter 7

Description: After his self-sacrifice Harry is faced with a choice, stay in limbo or play a RPG game about himself. Enough to say that stories about a character that actually chose to stay in limbo would not be a popular one... Video-game fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related, except the 7 books on my shelf. I also don't own any rights to GURPS, I own a lot of game books of it tough. No profit is being made from this piece of fiction.

A.N.: I like to ask for forgiveness to anyone who ever spoke English, it's not my first language and that is why you'll probably find lots of errors in my writing. This story is much an exercise for my writing in English skills as anything else.

A.N.2: The rules described on this story are an adaptation of Steve Jackson's GURPS system. It has lots of house rules and changes to adapt to HP and "video-game" setting.

A.N.3: If you liked the story and are up for Betaing it, please make contact. I admit that a Beta would be a dream-come-true at this point.

A.N.4: If you have any suggestion for simple quests, or even normal quests, feel free to volunteer them, I'm open to suggestions.

A.N.5: As usual, thanks for all the reviews. I'll try to answer to answer to a few more of them in the future, but my time is rather scarce right now. That said, this is the biggest chapter so far. No time skip yet, that will be for my next chapter.

**Harry Potter: The RPG**

CHAPTER 7

Sunday started exactly as the last one. The quest of making breakfast alone would make him an extremely competent chef by the time he went to Hogwarts. Considering that he had about 50 weekends left till that, and doing it twice per weekend, he would complete this quest a little more than a 100 times till next September first. This means 50 points invested in cooking alone. That was positively insane and made him start thinking.

Before his relatives throw him on the street for the duration of church services, the boy nicked a pencil and some notebook from his uncle and went outside. While he walked on the sidewalk he looked almost all his neighbors leaving their houses and going to the same place.

Cars were shining, families wearing their best clothes and everyone was smiling at each other. The smiles were fake, the clothes for show, and some of them were really struggling to pay for the aforementioned shining vehicles. No one had the time to even look to the town delinquent or pay attention to where he was going.

Finally, the boy arrived at the deserted park. Sitting at one of the picnic tables he opened the notebook and started some calculations.

"_Skill check: Mathematics. Failed."_

'Damn. That was low...' The boy was beyond frustrated. His intention was calculate an approximation of his future self. Make plans to how to spend his points and see the better way to become more apt in the future. But apparently he needs to learn mathematics.

'Should I spend half a point on it?' Harry wasn't sure if it was worth it. He currently had only default value on this one, to an abysmal score of 3 since it was a mental hard one, but looking to his roll log he had a modifier of +6 to try to make his calculations, meaning that what he wanted to do was really easy. Nevertheless, he failed.

Looking at the skill description he could see that checks of mathematics became non-existent after he put some point on it. At least on regular, day to day, usage. So he would only need to do skill checks for it on an academic setting or when facing an elaborate math problem.

Forgetting the numbers for a while, he once again studied his character sheet. He applied a lot of points on skills, almost all of them on something that he either didn't want or didn't need. Sure he wanted to succeed on the simple quests, but what he really needed were the free character points to invest on attributes or advantages.

Some activities were time-consuming. Gardening and being repair man could take hours at each time before he had a skill-check. Others took only a few minutes. He had no interest to reload and try again after three or more hours of hard work because a skill-check failed. However, for a short attempt, like the 'convince Dudley' quests reloading was not a real problem.

What Harry needed was optimization. He decided to not spend points on skills anymore, unless they were absolutely necessary, or very time consuming. If simple quests give him half a point on the used skill on completion, a bunch of them at the course of an entire year would be more than enough to get a good skill level in the end.

He wasn't planning on being a cook, a gardener or something similar after he was finished with Hogwarts. 'If the game will go that far...'

Thinking on this kind of problems the boy went for a walk around the neighborhood, maybe someone was still there and had a quest for him.

'My problem is my very low skill levels.' Whoever superior being that designed this game system choose to use as the main random factor a dice. A regular, 6 faced, dice. The same ones you use when you play monopoly or some of your favorite board games. When he checked a skill, for example, he 'rolled' 3 six faced dices. The results could then range from 3 to 18. Your skill level is them modified by the circumstances and compared with the result of the roll. Getting a value lower than your modified skill is a success, higher is a failure.

'Of course, things were not always this simple...' Getting results at the end of the spectrum, close to 3 or 18, would get you a critical result. Critical success or critical failure. These could be very welcomed or bring catastrophic results. Which result is critical is defined by your modified skill, so if you have a very high score, you have more chances of a critical success and lesser chances of critical failure.

Harry didn't have the math skills to calculate it right now, but he did know that the middle range values were worth a lot more than the ones on the extremes. An increase from 5 to a 6 in a skill isn't as important as an increase from 10 to 11.

Attempts to do math apart, Harry's other big problem was that he was just a child. Being too young put a huge dent on his attributes. Since skills are always governed by an attribute, having a low attribute implied in a terrible skill set overall.

Human attributes vary from 1 to 20. 1 being the weakest of the weak to 20 being the maximum exponent of that human quality. Take ST for instance: a person with 1 ST can't even rise from the ground, a few days old newborn for example, a 20 ST is the Olympic gold medal weight lifter.

The average for an adult human being is 10 on all four attributes. As a child, Harry didn't have even that. Since the boy was unwilling to 'waste' points on mathematics, he didn't even know how many points his '10 years old' disadvantage should give him but it was probably a lot.

Harry found his second Sunday quest at Mrs. Figg house. The fact that he knew her to be a squib and that Wizards didn't go to church may have something to do with that...

* * *

'Essence of Dittany, once again, proves its valor.' All the scratches Harry received were disappearing in an unbelievable pace. 'Maybe a normal ten years old would not notice, but any adult would.'

Given the sunny and warm day, Mrs. Figg decided to bathe her cats. All of them. And since Harry was volunteering, he was on the receiving end of a lot of sharp claws.

- It was not a problem Mrs. Figg. I just wanted to help.

'And gain a few character points while at it...'

- Nonsense, I know I have more cats than the average person. But how could I not to? They are so adorable... Nevertheless, some days you have to wash the bunch. Better do all in the same day when the climate is warm and sunny.

Considering the number of cats Mrs Figg kept, saying that she had more than an average person was a little understatement.

- You know Harry, you're really good with animals. Who would have thought...

Yeap, this was an animal handling simple quest, his luck advantage kept paying dividends and he hadn't to repeat this one. Washing that many animals that didn't like water at the same time was not really pleasant. He really didn't want to have a repeat of this morning any time soon.

Harry's lunch at the Dursley's was just regular. His aunt relayed the last gossip and the status of her currently vendetta against Mrs. Figg. Accordingly to her, the 'old-cat-crazy-lady' won't know what hit her. Harry was a little sorry for the whole affair, he sort of started it all, but not sorry enough to replay several days of 'game-play'.

By middle afternoon Harry found what he'd been looking the whole week. A real quest.

A group of teenagers in the park had that lovely silver glow around them. When he approached he overheard what they were talking.

- …and them Mr. Heathcote came with that old army gigs with his chest full of medals walking around like he owned the place! My father was furious!

- Yeah, the arrogant old bastard. We should teach him a lesson.

Four Little Whinging teenage inhabitants were just hanging around one of the park benches. Harry didn't exactly sneak there so, obviously, they noticed when he came near.

- Hey, look, it's that Potter boy. My father said that he dresses like a homeless person because Mr. Dursley spent all his money buying that new car and now they have barely enough to eat...

- Hahaha, such a fat loser. Hey kid, come over her!

The group doesn't exactly look very nice, but they had a quest for him. Choosing to ignore his senses, he approached.

- You're Potter right? You're that kid that everyone says it's a criminal, right?

Looking to the interested faces, Harry nodded before answering.

- Yes, I'm Harry Potter. I'm not sure about the criminal part...

The first one interrupted him before he could continue.

- Yeah, yeah... Listen, want to make a few pounds? Hang out with the cool kids?

The other teenagers looked at their friend strangely but said nothing. Harry just looked the older boy in the eye. 'Here comes the quest.'

- Sure, what do you have in mind?

"_Quest Accepted."_

- It's really simple. You know Mr. Heathcote? He lives in nº 53 Magnolia Road. Real annoying bastard.

One of the teenagers suddenly realizes the other game.

- A complete bastard. Rude to everyone, no sense of respect for the neighborhood.

The first agreed and started talking again.

- Yeah, an old bastard. No sense of respect. Thinks himself better than everyone. We're thinking to prank him a little. But to do that, we need your help.

Harry didn't like this one bit. You didn't need to be a genius to see that something was fishy with these guys.

- It's pretty simple. He was on my sister wedding last week and he was bragging about his medals to anyone who was close enough. You know how this old army dudes behave, always thinking they are better than everyone else, using the old uniform, chest full of gay ribbons and shit...

The other teenagers were at this point all agreeing, all of then sporting equally evil smiles.

- And them I was thinking, he said that he got his medals out of the attic especially for my sister wedding, that means that he kept them locked up there. Maybe someone like you would go there and get for us. Imagine his face when he finds that they're gone! He will sure lose some of his smugness...

Harry was not convinced at all. How naive they think he was? Bringing the manual up, the boy looked at the quest description.

"_The medal retriever:_

_Nathan Parker and his friends want the medals from Mr. Heathcote._

_Bring the medals to them._

_Bonus: Don't be seen, heard or even noticed."_

Harry never met this Mr. Heathcote. He sure didn't remember anyone from his previous life with this name. In the Little Whinging group reputation, the name of Benjamin Heathcote was grayed out, meaning that indeed both kid and old man never met. 'What the hell, I saved the game before leaving home after lunch...'

- Okay, I'll see what I can do.

The teenagers were exultant and one of them told him that he was 'cool' for doing this. However, as soon as he was leaving he heard the group laughing. He was almost certain that they were laughing at him.

* * *

Nº 53 Magnolia Road was not very different from the houses around it. The houses on this part of Little Whinging were a bit bigger than the ones at Privet Drive. The garden was also bigger and you can even see trees planted in a few. The difference was that nº53 had a less cared garden than their neighbors and the house was a little more dilapidated than the rest.

'Well, now I'll become a burglar.' Harry wasn't enjoying this. He could always load the last save-game and ignore this quest if he really wanted to. He could do with only simple quests after all. But if this quest gives the same points as his last one did he could potentially, with the bonus, gain 8 character points. With that he could buy yet another attribute point.

While he was thinking he pondered the house. He was certain that there was a skill that let you pick locks. The problem was that he hasn't unlocked it. Even if he had, he just decided that morning to not spend more points on skills that he didn't need. 'Even if I need to open locked doors in the future, they'll probably be magic locked ones and this skill will probably be completely useless.'

In addition, this was not a simple quest. He probably won't resolve it with a simple test of skill. Sure he completed the quest with Emma with a test, but that was he abusing the game system with a skill he wasn't supposed to have, an advantage that let him roll multiple times and a reload function that is really a cheat on itself.

'I will not pick that locket. My default on that skill will be abysmal and my auto-save is way back when I left the Dursleys.' Looking for an alternative the boy opened his character sheet.

'Hum... The boys said that the medals were in the attic, and I do have points invested in the climbing skill.' The boy started looking for a place to climb the house. A window in the upper floor could be open and that would be his point of entrance.

The analysis was not that great. Sure, some parts of the building looked climbable, but his climbing skill modifier, if he would have any, would surely not be favorable. 'Nevertheless, I have to try.'

"_Luck used. Skill check: Climbing. Success."_

With his heart pounding heavily on his chest, the boy got to the second floor. In a very daring move he went sideways testing windows, trying to find one open. On his third try he finally found one and then entered a small bathroom.

"_Auto-saved."_

'I'm in.'

* * *

The bathroom was very sparse. None of the nicknacks that you would encounter on his aunt-controlled bathroom at nº4, but a much more spartan approach. 'Maybe because there is only a single man using it?'

Nevertheless, nothing on the white titles, white walls and beige shower curtains attracted his attention. Ever so slowly the boy opened the bathroom door and arrived at a corridor. As quiet as possible the boy started to explore the second floor of the house.

"_Skill contest: Stealth. Failed."_

"_Quest bonus: Failed."_

'Hum... maybe I should rethink my options here.'

Harry's decision to not spend anymore points on skills was biting him in the ass at this precise moment. His default stealth level was an embarrassing 4 and he had to win a contest against the old army veteran. Sure, the guy was apparently on the lower floor, and this represented a +6 modifier to his skill check, but the guy also had a 14 on his hearing roll.

Translation, Harry really sucked at sneaking and the old guy hearing was as good as a hunting dog. He could reload and try again, but that would depend greatly on his luck on the rolls. Once again, the stacks were against him.

'Stealth is not a bad skill to have.' Sure, if this game was anything like his old life, he would inherit his father's cloak, but even so, he doubted he would be spared of stealth rolls. 'The cloak would probably give a huge modifier to it, but the roll will be there.'

Thinking on all the night strolls he and his friends did on the last seven years it was not difficult to make the decision to overrule his previous decision just once and apply half a point to the stealth skill, raising it's level to a not so impressive 7.

Not wanting to fail at the bonus part of his quest, last time it awarded 3 points, the boy loaded the game to try again.

The second floor of the Nº53 of Magnolia Road was an obvious old person house. Not typical, but certainly filled with lots of memorabilia of a long life. Lot's and lots of pictures of different people and places. The picture of the same man keep appearing everywhere, in various life stages, since his youth to his elderly ones.

A particular woman feature repeatedly, also in different ages. It didn't required a genius to deduce that that was probably Mrs. Heathcote. Mr. and Mrs. Heathcote apparently liked to travel a lot and the pictures showed the couple in several iconic places around the world.

More than ever, Harry felt that he shouldn't be here. He was an intruder on this man life. Nothing more than a thief. With his conscience nagging him, he went to look for the attic entrance.

A narrow stairway leaded to yet another floor into the aforementioned attic.

* * *

Inside the cluttered space, several boxes competed with old furniture and some miscellaneous objects. Hanging on a clothes rack, protected by a plastic cover, was several immaculate uniforms. All of them wrinkles and aligned with perfection, denouncing a lot of care with the details.

Looking at the several closed boxes, Harry decided to start his search.

Box after box were opened and it's contents searched. Apparently all Mr. Heathcote army stuff was stashed in the attic and several of them contained even more pictures, books and war trinkets.

He could only gaze at a perfectly preserved Lee-einfield and the several pictures of Mr. Heathcote, at his prime, posing right next to to a Spitfire airplane. Helmets, coats, several compasses and obviously used maps. Boots and bayonets, knifes and even a cavalry sword! A whole life of collecting war artifacts and them stashed in a single attic.

In retrospect, it was pretty obvious that the medals used on an event that took place not long ago would be close to the entrance. Harry was just marveling at the preciousness of the moment to think straight.

Fortunately the boy was quiet and had time to look around before going back to a stacked box right next to the uniforms. Inside of it was a wooden case was what he was looking for.

Several ribbons of the most different colors were carefully pinned on the velvet lining. More than a dozen medals shared the space with the ribbons and shined to the amazed boy.

'Mr. Heathcote is the real deal...' Harry closed the box reverently and looked around cluttered space. Wasn't this supposed to be just a game? How could he not immerse on this if he kept encountering things like this place? Mr. Heathcote felt just as real as his aunt or uncle at this point, even more so.

Opening the manual on the relationship page the boy looked at the named entries there.

"_Relationship: Group Reputation:_

_Petunia Dursley -773 Little Whinging -476_

_Vernon Dursley -762_

_Dudley Dursley -468_

_Arabella Figg 318_

_Emma Strode 533 – Crush_

_Paul Strode 300_

_Natalie Strode 300"_

Paying particular attention at the Little Whinging group the boy opened a huge list of names, hundreds of them, each of them inside the group. Looking carefully Harry found the name he was looking for, Benjamin Heathcote, a grayed out name between all the others. Grayed names mean that he never met him, and as such he would be subjected to a first impression roll when he did.

'So many names, so many lifes.' Making a conscious decision, the boy decided to remove the name of the old war hero and put it together with the other on his list. 'If Vernon Dursley has a spot there, the least I can do is save one for you too, Mr. Heathcote.'

It was the 9th day since the beginning of the game and still Harry was discovering things. Right at that moment, he discovered that all the people were as important as he wanted them to be.

'Philosophical stuff aside, now what?' The case with the medals stood there, inside the box, taunting him. Should he take it and complete the quest? To which lengths he was wiling to go for character points? The teenagers said that this was all a prank, something to remove Mr. Heathcote smugness. Harry didn't know the old man, never even seen him. He was probably downstairs in this exact moment, never imagining that he had a trespasser on his attic.

Harry wanted to save at that precise moment. But the game system wouldn't allow it. 'Bugger, if this all turned bad, I can always reload before I left nº4 and forget this quest altogether.'

Decision made, the boy took the case and descended to the second floor of the house.

* * *

Using his shirt as an improvised cloth sack the boy went back down. One more stealth check later and the boy was back at the bathroom window.

"_Auto-saved."_

"_Skill-check: Climbing. Fail"_

'Damn, I hate being so inept.' Harry failed his skill and went down like a rock. He received 3 points of damage and alerted Mr. Heathcote, failing the bonus part of the quest.

"_Game Loaded."_

The second time Harry did it right and climbed down to the house's front yard. After removing the case from it, the boy redressed the shirt and went to complete the quest.

The teenagers were not difficult to find, specially considering that the silver circle around our protagonist kept pointing at their direction. They were still at the park, and giving that barely an hour had past, this was not that surprising.

They were at a different location tough, right next to a picnic table, laughing and talking between themselves. Directly approaching them the boy was ready to face the music.

- Here I brought what you guys wanted.

The four older boys looked at the young one like he was the last thing they expected to see.

- Really? Oh, wow. Give it to me. Let us see.

Handing the case to them the boy watched dispassionately as they put it on the table and opened it.

"_Quest completed. Reputation with Little Whinging +10 points."_

"_Reward claimed: 5 character points gained. Bonus objective completed: 3 additional character points gained"_

'What is the price of my soul? Apparently 8 character points...' The teens were looking at the content of the box and ignored the black haired boy.

- We can sell all this stuff for a lot of money, I know that some people pay a lot for this crap...

- Yeah, maybe we can score new bikes selling this.

- Better if no one sees us with the box, them we can decide what to do with it later...

The four teenagers started looking around for curious people who might have seen the delivery.

Harry however was looking closely to the medal box. It was, unmistakable, shining in a silver glow. The boy grinned relieved. He could still make this right and keep his 8 character points!

Bringing his manual up, the boy opened his character sheet.

'Okay, I need to run. And I need to run fast.'

Harry's currently movement speed was a lousy 4.625 meters per second. Sure, he could outrun almost all the 10 years old he knew off, thanks for the running skill, but teenagers? For once, the teenagers were not kids, and as such they wouldn't have the penalty to their status that Harry had. If the boys had 10 at each stat and movement is determined by DX+HT/4, Harry would be facing a movement of 5 from them. None of them looked that athletic so, they probably didn't have the running skill.

The calculations for all this eluded Harry, but he knew that his awful stats would screw him on this. 'I have 11.5 point tough. Time to spend them.'

Harry bought a point of HT. HT was the stat that defined his overall health, it also increased his hit points and his movement speed. A single point increase HT increased his movement by 0.25. Also, running was a physical skill, but based on HT. As such the skill increased by a level, to a 6, further increasing his movement by a total of 0.375. His new total was a very round 5.

'Well, pretty good for a 10 years old.' Harry not convinced that he could pull this up. Not with just the 5, he needed a little more to stay ahead. Deciding that he couldn't screw this up he invested another point on the running skill, rising his movement stat to 5.125.

'This will have to do. No more points to spend.' With the teens distracted the boy snatched the case and started running.

1... 2... 3... 4... They boys finally noticed the running Harry. 5... 6... They noticed the missing case. 7... 8...

- HEY! POTTER GOT THE CASE! AFTER HIM!

"_Reputation with Little Whinging -10 points"_

"_Redeeming the medals robber:_

_You stole the medals back from Nathan Parker and his friends. Take them back to Mr. Heathcote house._

_Bonus: Be the one to put them back in their original place."_

Harry felt light, fast and determined. With the case in hand he risked a look behind and just one of the teens appeared to be catching up. The older boy appeared to be slightly faster than our hero, but the almost 8 seconds advantage would require a long run to be recovered.

As such, both teen and boy ran. They ran from the park, they run along all of Magnolia road till the big houses at the beginning of it. The housed succeed one after another, the bespectacled boy crossed the street and almost got hit by a car. The teenager almost toppled an old lady that was walking on the sidewalk.

By number 80 the teen almost caught our hero, but he used his renewed luck advantage and tactfully dodged the older boy tackle move.

Arriving at Nº53 the boy frantic started ringing the doorbell. The teenager arrived shortly after and looked at the boy and his finger on the doorbell. As in answer to Harry's prayers, a voice came from inside.

- Calm down! I'm coming! I'm not deaf you know?

The teenager looked again at the boy and gave a last look at the wooden case.

- You're dead Potter. DEAD.

The pursuer turned around and ran in the opposite direction, he was in the middle of the block when the door opened. An old man wearing a green and white sweater came out of the door and looked at the running teenager and them at Harry.

- What's going on here? Why all the rush?

The boy was sweating and breathless. With his free hand he asked a little time while he tried to control his respiration.

- I... came to... give it... back.

Mr. Heathcote turned his head and looked at the boy strangely. He looked at the red face and them at his disgruntled clothes. Everything would be ordinary if not by the object the boy was carrying.

- Give what back boy?

- Your medals... I came to... give your medals... back.

The man's face closed in a frown. He looked at the box and them at the boy with a serious expression.

- These are my medals? This is my case you're holding? How have you ended with them?

The tired boy looked at the case and them at the old man.

- No... It was... me. Kind of... I mean... I stole it.

Mr. Heathcote looked at the boy with a frown on his face. He then crossed his arms, waiting for a more detailed explanation.

- You see... I was at... the park. Then... the boys there... wanted me to... steal them.

The face of the old man became even more severe.

- So you broke int my house? How did you manage to do that?

Harry took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his heart rate.

- I climbed you house. I went up from there and then... then I entered by the bathroom window.

The man looked to where the boy was pointing, he follow the finger all the way up to the bathroom window.

- That couldn't be easy.

- It was not. Coming down was even harder. I was carrying the case after all.

Mr. Heathcote looked at the boy with an intrigued expression.

- And now you bring them back...

- Yes sir.

The man walked back inside the house and made a movement ordering the boy to follow him. As soon as both were inside, the man closed the door.

"_Auto-saved."_

Harry was uncertain how he should proceed now. The game just auto-saved, that means his last save game was way before all this mess. He stole the medals, but he was going to give it back to it's owner. He still felt kind of guilty tough.

- Sir... I stole from you. I stole something very important. But I'm sorry for it, and I recover them. I understand if you want to call my aunt or even the police...

The cold stare of the elderly man was Harry's only answer.

- Sir? Uh... Have you heard me?

- I heard you. I'm just deciding what to do with you. You're that Potter boy, aren't you? The one that Vernon Dursley always say it is the worst thing that ever happened to him.

Harry droped his head sadly. It doesn't matter how much time has passed, his uncle's words still hurt.

- Yes sir. I'm Harry Potter.

Mr. Heathcote nodded before continuing.

- You know boy, I never met you before. I barely heard of all the outrageous things you are supposed to have done. But you appear to be a handful. Listening to some teenage ruffians, climbing a house's wall and trespassing. Stealing other people's stuff.

The old man nodded again and pierce the boy with his eyes.

- But you brought them back. That means that all is not lost on you. Maybe you still have some hope. I just don't see Vernon Dursley going through the effort to bring the best out of you.

Harry was surprised. 'What was all that about?'

- Tomorrow, after you're done with school, homework and whatever chores your family has for you, you will come here. I will put you to work. God knows that my house could use someone to do a few things. And while we were at it. Let's see if I can put some values inside you little head.

'That was... unexpected.' The boy couldn't see where this was going. This was a totally new thing for him. He really was not expecting great changes in his second time at Little Whinging.

- You're not lazy, are you? Can I trust you? Are you willing to put some hard work to redeem yourself?

There was only one answer for this, and so Harry said it.

- Yes, sir.

Once again, the man nodded. He looked at the boy as if evaluating his worth. He them extended his hand.

- It's a deal them. Don't break my trust Mr. Potter!

Taking the hand, the boy shook it. Harry than looked at the case and prepared to deliver it to it's owner, but he hesitated.

- Look... I know it is strange... But can I put it back where I got it? In the attic I mean, in it's box.

The man looked to the boy curiously before nodding briefly.

- I suppose that's alright. I imagine you know the way there, right?

Looking around the boy absorbed a little more of the old man's life. Old but well-maintained furniture, comfortable but very tidy, lots of memorabilia of times long past. Spotting the stair the boy looked at the old man, asking silently for permission. Once the man cautiously agreed, the boy went to climb them.

The second floor was already familiar and the boy went forward with a little more confidence. From there to the attic was just a little more distance and another set of stairs.

Once again in the cluttered room the boy went straight to the familiar box. After opening it he carefully deposited the case where it belonged.

"_Quest Completed. Reputation with Benjamin Heathcote +50 points"_

The boy smiled at the appearance of the message. 'I made it.'

- I supposed that was it.

As an answer the man approached the case and opened it, exhibiting it's contents.

- Maybe they don't mean much to you, but these are important to me. Not the objects per see, but what they represent.

The boy looked at the war veteran and tried to answer. He really did, the only problem was that he didn't know how to. What should he say? Opening the manual the boy brought up his quest page.

"_Reward claimed: 3 character points gained. Bonus objective completed: 2 additional character points gained"_

Once Harry resumed the game the man continued talking.

- Maybe some day you'll can earn something like this for you...

Not really expecting a response, Mr. Heathcote continued.

- Good. Go now. I'll see you tomorrow.

* * *

"_Character: Harry Potter Age: 10 Total Points: 39.5 Unspent: 5.5_

_ST: 7 (0) Fatigue: (7) 7 Parry: 7_

_DX: 9 (0) Hit Points: (8) 8 Block: -_

_IQ: 9 (10) Magic Points: (30) 30 Dodge: 5_

_HT: 8 (10) Mov. Speed 4.25 (5.125) _

_Damage: Thrust: 1d-3 Swing: 1d-3_

_Advantages: (+65) _

_Magic Aptitude +3 +0*_

_Reputation: The-boy-who-lived +3 (hero, Magical society, All the time) +0*_

_Alertness 2 +10_

_Combat Reflexes +15_

_Danger Sense +15_

_High Pain Threshold +10_

_Luck +15_

_Disadvantages: (-65) _

_10 years old (-3 ST, -1 DX, -2 IQ, -3 HT) -0*_

_Curse Scar -0*_

_Enemy: The Dark Lord -0*_

_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time) -5_

_Bad Sight -10_

_Skinny -5_

_Bad Temper -10_

_Impulsiveness -10_

_Lecherousness -15_

_Sense of duty (Hero Complex) -10_

_Skills:_

_Animal Handling (M/H) 1.5 7_

_Brawling (P/E) 1 9_

_Carpentry (M/E) 1 9  
_

_Climbing (P/A) 1 8_

_Cooking (M/E) 3 10_

_Fast-talk (M/A) 2 8_

_Gardening (M/E) 1.5 9_

_Mechanic (M/A) 1 8_

_Merchant (M/A) 2 9_

_Research (M/A) 1 8_

_Running (P/H) 2 7 (based on HT)_

_Sex Appeal (M/A) 2 8 (based on HT)_

_Stealth (P/A) 0.5 7_

_Inventory:_

_Used summer clothes. 1Kg 0 RD, 0 PD._

_Mended Glasses. 0kg._

_0 Galleons_

_2 Pounds"_

Final Note: Next chapter I'll make a time skip, not a big one, but one nonetheless. Some people asked that Harry re-buy his disadvantages. He'll do it later, but not all of them. He is still convinced that his points are better spent on attributes at this point.


	8. Chapter 8

Description: After his self-sacrifice Harry is faced with a choice, stay in limbo or play a RPG game about himself. Enough to say that stories about a character that actually chose to stay in limbo would not be a popular one... Video-game fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related, except the 7 books on my shelf. I also don't own any rights to GURPS, I own a lot of game books of it tough. No profit is being made from this piece of fiction.

A.N.: The rules described on this story are an adaptation of Steve Jackson's GURPS system. It has lots of house rules and changes to adapt to HP and "video-game" setting.

A.N.2: If you have any suggestion for simple quests, or even normal quests, feel free to volunteer them, I'm open to suggestions.

A.N.3: I'm still trying to answer to all reviewers, my sincere thanks for the people that takes a little of their time to leave me some feedback. You're appreciated! That said, a little time skip. No more day-to-day descriptions and only a general one. Next time even these will be gone, the focus will now be on important events and quests.

A.N.4: This chapter has been Beta-ed by SupremeEntity11. All praise to him!

**Harry Potter: The RPG**

CHAPTER 8

To some people, routine was something to be avoided. Some kind of horrible state where you are trapped doing the same kind of thing over and over again.

To Harry, this was not the case. The reality was that his first month in his new life, in this game life, was his best time he had ever had in Little Whinging. Sure, the days ended up looking very similar, but in the end everything fit like it was supposed to.

Every weekday he helped his aunt to fix breakfast and, later in the day, performed several house chores. Some people would say that this was boring and pointless, but not Harry. For him, these tasks were small opportunities to better his reputation with Petunia. It was a path to an objective, no matter how small the reward was. With this perspective everything could be seen in the same view. Sure, his uncle demands some pointless things sometimes, but if he did what was asked, he gained a reputation boost.

Other things had a more tangible result. On his search for his two single quests a day, he got an even bigger result. Character points and skill points brought a real power boost to him, made the boy better in some way or other. Gaining points, becoming stronger, had an irresistible pull at this point. Nowadays he rarely had to reload an auto save to retry a simple quest. With his luck advantage he consistently got them right on his first try.

The other part of his relative happiness was the acceptance of his disadvantages. Harry stopped worrying so much about his failings. He was so busy all the time that his bad temper and impulsiveness hardly ever appeared, his only cause for some contempt was his self-chosen lecherousness,

His lecherous behavior deserves a special mention. Once he accepted it, his numerous attempts at flirting became less of a bother and more like a stress relief, perhaps even a source of pleasure.

The reason for this was the limitations of game mechanics. It was not exactly simple, but could be explained. Since Harry had chosen to use the group reputation, when he failed at a flirt attempt he would loose 1 or 2 reputation points with the Little Whinging group. That was apparently the only consequence. The person that received the unwanted romantic interest didn't suddenly hate Harry or something equally nasty. She would remember what happened but her opinion of him was diluted on the hundreds of people that compose the group.

That said, as long as he didn't score a critical failure, something that would earn him a big reputation reduction probably with consequences with his aunt and uncle, nothing else would come from his undesirable advances. Sometimes, even on a regular failure, an adult woman would get really shocked and calls his aunt, but these moments were a rather rare occurrence, nothing a reload would not fix.

So Harry flirted. When his moves were rejected, pretty much in any circumstance outside a critical success, he just went to recover the lost reputation by the way of a fast-talk check with a neighborhood child. One or two tries usually let him recover the lost reputation point, and sometimes even a little more. Sometimes he also flirted with girls his age just for the fun of it! Slowly, but surely, his reputation with the group was climbing noticeably.

One of his long term plans was the conversion of his cousin Dudley. Every single day, on the way from their home to school, Harry fast-talked him for a reputation bonus. Together with the eventual quest to make him stop doing something stupid, his reputation with Harry would in a few months be in the positives numbers. An added bonus was that, at least on weekdays, his cousin had stopped bullying him, and he even kept his bully friends away from the boy and his 'girlfriend'.

Another very welcome change from his past life was that Harry now had a girlfriend: the ten years old Emma. Every school recess Harry went with his now routine flirt attempts with the girl. Unlike his other attempts with sex-appeal, with Emma the boy never let a failed attempt occur. Using luck, and by loading auto-saves, he always made sure that he succeeded on his tests with her. The consequences for this were a really big increase in her reputation with him.

To complete his routine, the last person Harry added to his circle of acquaintances was Mr. Heathcote. Mr. Heathcote had apparently taken upon himself the task of 'correcting' Harry's bad behavior. His choice of disciplinary action was to give the boy work! The old man was the proprietor of an old dilapidated house, badly in need of work from a motivated boy. Sure, the fact that said boy was a somewhat accomplished carpenter, woodworker, gardener and mechanic was a very welcome coincidence.

So, Mr. Heathcote became a quest hub. Not a simple quest hub though, but a very entertaining one. Every day that Harry appeared at his door the man had a quest and a story to tell. His stories always brought some life lesson, but were nevertheless very entertaining. On top of that, Mr. Heathcote apparently was really interested in knowing the 'young lad'. As such, he always questioned the boy on numerous topics and, if that was not enough, he actually paid attention to the answers and remembered them on future occasions!

To a child that was neglected, even if said child was intellectually a 17 years old teenager, this kind of attention was priceless. When the old man requested that he brought his homework to his house so he could verify his work personally, Harry was happy to comply. Our protagonist may not even be aware of it but, for the first time in his rather short existence, he had an active parental figure present in his day-to-day affairs.

With all this, someone would imagine that Harry had little time for anything else. Nevertheless, Harry still had other thing to worry about. First and foremost was the teenage threat to his life.

On his first contact with Mr. Heathcote, Harry made enemies with a teenage gang. These boys were actively seeking out our young hero with the intent of harming him. This brought a lot of load saved games up front and also a few simple quests involving them.

The quests were a stealth and a running one. If the teenagers saw him first, he had to run, if he saw them first, he had to sneak out of the area. With his save scumming, Harry avoided the running quests long enough to gather enough points to buy yet another HT point. Once he had that, he could consistently outrun the teenagers.

On September 15th, Harry woke up to find a regular quest waiting for him in his cupboard. The quest was very simple, make someone love him. Of course, just because something is simple doesn't mean that it will be easy. What he needed to do was raise someone's reputation with him over 700 points. As a bonus, he needed to raise yet another reputation over 700.

At the moment, Emma's reputation was the largest, with a little less than 600 points. Second place was Mrs. Figg, with a little over 300 points. So, decisions had to be made. Harry wanted the bonus from the quest. Since the quest had no time limit he was sure that he could raise anyone reputations over the required value given enough time. No reason to 'lose' the bonus points for not doing a complete job.

So besides Emma, he needed a second person to invest his efforts in. Mrs. Figg looked promising but at the same time, in 15 days time she gave only 3 quests in total. That meant that almost all reputation would come from fast-talk checks.

For that reason he chose Mr. Heathcote as the second person for this quest. To Harry he was the better candidate because the old man presented daily quests that would make the job of bringing his reputation up much easier. The fact that he was unconsciously starving for some kind of parental approval had nothing to do with this choice, obviously...

Even if Harry didn't have a time limit for this quest, he still wanted to complete it as soon as possible. So his first option was the one that had worked for him so far: Save-scumming. With it he made sure that every test of sex-appeal with Emma and fast-talk with Mr. Heathcote was always a critical success. That was important, because the difference between a normal success and a critical one was huge. On a normal success on sex-appeal, the gain on reputation would be between 3 to 9 points, on a critical one the gain would be 3 times his total skill value. The same thing applied to fast-talk, the only difference was that he would only gain 2 times his total skill on a critical hit. So, lots of reloading and luck usage.

Another discovery was that Harry could complete more than 2 simple quests a day. The difference was that the third quest, and potentially all the other that would follow, didn't give any point rewards on completion. What they did was give a double reputation bonus instead. That was very convenient to our protagonist. Since he was looking for the quickest way to raise Mr. Heathcote reputation, all he had to do was complete 2 simple quests before going to his house. This way he get yet another quest for the old man and received double reputation on it's completion.

Harry was becoming very good at making the game mechanics work his way. It was the like the manual said at the beginning; _E__xploits of the system exist and are considered part of the fun._

* * *

**October 1****st**

-...And that, you see, was when Wesley discovered that his pants were on fire! The lad didn't know what do do. If he dropped the pan, the food would be ruined and none of us would eat that night, so he just stood there asking for help. Ugly Jhon solved the problem by dumping the piss bucket on him. Suffice to say, Wesley was not amused.

Harry laughed. Once again, Mr. Heathcote was entertaining him with some of his numerous stories. This particular one was from before the war, when he was still training. Both old man and young boy were working on a wardrobe. The delicate work would require a professional joiner, but Harry had the woodwork skill, so he could be counted as one.

Initially, Mr. Heathcote was amazed at Harry skill, but after 20 days he was now used to it.

- So lad. Are you going to tell me about the Nathan Parker and his hooligans gang?

Harry stopped his work and looked at the wrinkled face.

- What about them? They are still trying to get to me, but I'm slippery. And fast. Do you know that joke about...

The old man interrupted the other before he could get started.

- Yes, yes... You and your jokes. We already had your joke session for today when you got here. I don't think my prostate can handle more laughs without me peeing myself. So, don't avoid the question. They probably aren't very happy you escaped them yet again.

With half a smile the boy remained quiet for a little longer. As the reputation with the old man raised, also raised his concern for our young hero. It was a welcomed change to his life at Privet Drive, but completely unnecessary. He has the power of save scumming on his side.

- They were waiting to ambush me as school ended today again. I think they are getting very frustrated with me always eluding them. I saw them from a window and sneaked past the group by ducking behind some other kid's parent's car. No big deal. I can always run from them. I'm the fastest 10 year old in Little Whinging...

- Yes, yes, yes... 'Fastest bugger around!' You always says that. I hope you don't have to eat those words. You can't always run from your problems.

- Well, in this case, I just snuck past it.

Laughing at the glare he received for an answer, the boy continued.

- They will give up eventually. Well, at least give up on actively hunting me. What kind of 15 year old spends that much time stalking a young boy? He can't just skip class forever. And I'm not exactly alone most of the time, so the time window he has to try to beat me is very, very small.

Mr. Heathcote could only nod,, agreeing with Harry. They both worked in silence for a little longer before the boy continued.

- You know, today I received a que... a proposition from my school coach.

Shortly after the end of recess, the Physical Education teacher went to Harry's class and asked to talk to the boy for a brief moment. He came with an invitation to the boy. He wanted to him apply for a spot on the school football team. This proposition was in fact a regular quest. The description was as follows:

"_Joining the Football team:_

_You've been invited to join the local football team. Assure your place in the team._

_Bonus: Be the best player at the trials."_

Since September 10th, every Monday and Thursday his school was testing the students. Every week, on these two days, there was a simple quest with an academic skill. These were some of the easiest quests he faced so far, because Harry received a +7 modifier on his roll. 'I suppose that since these skills were mental/hard ones and they were testing kids, they should be easy.' Nevertheless he treated them like all other simple quests, and always spent half a point on them at start and then used his luck advantage.

Last Thursday was the time for his Phys. Ed. test. For better or worse, Harry scored a critical success on it and as a result the coach went after him to 'recruit' for the school team. As such he received a piece of paper requiring his aunt or uncle signature authorizing him to join the sports club.

- You see Mr. Heathcote, he asked me to go this Saturday for a trial. They are selecting candidates for the school's football team. But I don't...

- So it's settled. You're going to this trial, and getting yourself a spot on this team.

Harry felt suddenly warm inside. Mr. Heathcote's belief in the boy's capabilities was a reaffirmation to the neglected boy's ego. Nevertheless, it wouldn't be Harry if he didn't angst around a little bit.

- Well, it requires my aunt and uncle's signature and they...

- Say no more. I'll talk with the fat oaf. I'm not too old to beat the crap out of someone like Vernon Dursley if needed. I may dirty myself from all the lard though. Let's just hope that he listens to reason.

The boy couldn't avoid chuckling. Technically, he could convince his uncle with a fast-talk skill, but to have an adult defend his interests was too good to be true.

* * *

**October 2****nd**

- No Dudley. That's a stupid idea.

- But why? She won't know I took it, it's just some stupid watch.

- You can't take Mrs. Marybeth's pocket watch. Of course she will miss it. Look, just ask for one from your father, he will buy you whatever you want...

* * *

**October 4****th**

- And that Vernon, is why you need to let the boy participate on the football team. It will teach him teamwork, the value of being part of something. You need to put some sense of responsibility in him. Letting him do some work for me was the right choice, you said yourself that the lad was much more cooperative these days. He needs a strong hand to point him in the right direction.

Vernon rearranged himself on the sofa. Mr. Heathcote arrived without warning just as the fat man was arriving from work. Now the veteran was ordering the man around, making pretty convincing arguments about his nephew.

- Well, the lad is indeed more cooperative...

- Exactly. I've been making him study too, so you should see some increase in his grades. If not, I'll have to make him study extra hard.

Once again, the man agreed with the very energetic and aggressive Benjamin Heathcote.

- The boy's teacher called the other day and said that he was turning up with better grades. At first I thought he was cheating, but then he convinced me that he was really making an effort. He is even studying with Dudley on the weekends. It was part of our deal...

Once again the older man interrupted.

- Yes. Great. Now, sign the authorization, and remember that the lad needs to be at the school this Saturday afternoon!

* * *

**October 5****th**

- Petunia, darling? It's Natalie here. Yes, Natalie Strode. Yes, yes. Sure. Yes, I want to talk about him. Yes, he is here. What? No, no, no. He is a perfect gentleman. What are you saying Petunia? The boy is adorable. No, no problem at all. I am just calling to ask if the boy can sleep here tonight. You see my daughter is infatuated...

- MOM!

- Hahahah, okay, she likes the boy a lot. And as such, we thought to ask you if the boy can sleep here this night. They have some research to do for school and tomorrow is a Saturday, you see... Yes... yes... No... Perfect. Yes. I'll make sure that he goes to the trial for the football team. Great.

Hanging up the phone the woman turned to a very embarrassed girl and a smiling boy.

- Okay. Regularly I would not let a boy sleep over at our house, but you are just such a gentleman all the time, Harry. Let me and Paul take care of everything. You two should go and have fun.

The blushing girl grabbed Harry's hand and dragged him towards the stairs.

- Sorry about my mom. She is always blabbering about things she knows nothing about...

Still smiling the boy answered.

- But you are in fact infatuated with me, aren't you? You like me a lot, don't you?

At the top of the stairs a very shocked girl let a young boy's hand loose. Momentarily speechless, the girl opened her mouth several times before recovering her voice.

- I... I do. I do like you. A lot. I think... I think I love you Harry.

Both of the kids were uncomfortable at that proclamation. Looking at the pink faced girl, Harry decided to be bold. He kissed her on the mouth. His first kiss on the mouth in his second life.

Harry's life was becoming more and more complicated.

* * *

**October 5****th**** – Early nighttime.**

Harry was in Emma's room playing solitaire on her computer when she came back from the bathroom. She was wearing a pink bathrobe and had a wrapped towel on her head. She was the very definition of the word 'cute'. When she saw him she stopped and closed the door behind her. Her face was so red that it could be described as scarlet.

- Harry. I wanted to show you something... Do you want to see it?

The boy turned to the girl, confused.

- See what?

Still not looking the boy in the eyes, the girl made a vague gesture pointing in the down direction of her legs.

A few seconds passed while the boy processed the information. Then suddenly his eyes widened.

"_Will Check: Failed."_

- Eehhh... Okay.

The bathrobe was open wide. Both kids went completely still. Harry couldn't turn his eyes away. In a very small voice, the girl talked first.

- Do... Do you... Do you want to touch it?

"_Will Check: Failed."_

'Oh God.' In an even smaller voice, the boy answered.

- Okay.

* * *

**October 6****th**

Harry was still in a state of shock when he arrived at the school's football field. The morning was awkward enough with Mr. and Mrs. Strode being especially friendly with him. Luckily he had already passed a will check the day before when he was received by Mrs. Strode, on his fifth try, and today the game system took pity on him and let him control himself around the beautiful lady.

He still didn't know why he hadn't reloaded after Friday night's events. Sure, he would need to go to the moment he entered the house, but what he had done was horrifying.

'She is just a little kid...' His rational part, the one with scruples, was saying. On the other hand, the part influenced by the lecherousness disadvantage was saying very loudly and repeatedly: 'IT IS JUST A GAME! SHUT UP AND ENJOY IT!'

He had enjoyed it. Somewhat. He was in a ten year old body so there was not as much 'enjoyment' to be made, but there was some exploration. 'More than I ever did with Ginny...'

The rest of the morning went on without event. Emma was extra affectionate, but this behavior was not exactly news, it was in fact becoming more and more present as he raised her reputation.

Now as his trial approached he once again brought the manual up.

"_Relationship: Group Reputation:_

_Petunia Dursley -660 Little Whinging -397_

_Vernon Dursley -675_

_Dudley Dursley -260_

_Arabella Figg 340_

_Emma Strode 875 – Devoted_

_Paul Strode 310_

_Natalie Strode 306_

_Benjamin Heathcote 620"_

'She is devoted to me.' A few days ago, when Emma reputation with Harry reached a 700 value, the description next to the number was announcing that the girl was 'In love'. Before that it was just 'Crush'.

'The quest name was: _Someone loves you_...' Following this logic, a 700 value meant that the person loved Harry. Mr. Heathcote was very close to it and, in a few days, he would reach that threshold. Nevertheless, the old man didn't have a description right next to the number.

'It would be REALLY weird if Mr. Heathcote was crushing on me...' That meant that the way you raised your reputation affected how exactly the person felt. He had raised Emma reputation mainly using sex-appeal. This skill was meant to seduction and romantic endeavors, and that would explain the tags next to the reputation numbers.

Now Harry had a ten years old girl not only in love with him, but devoted. What exactly that meant, our hero was just starting to comprehend. The question was, what to do now? Should he reload to the beginning and approach all this on some other way?

The manual had no answers. The game system was completely amoral as far as he understood it. If he suddenly decided to murder someone, he was certain that the game would allow it, maybe some hints would pop up and explain something or other while he was doing it.

'The game is in arcade mode. That means that the rules emulate but don't exactly represent reality.' And that was the final argument. Everything he was experiencing was a game. Emma, Mr. Heathcote, the Dursleys, all of them were part of an elaborate simulation.

'So why do these people feel so real? Why am I so bothered by it?'

…

Focusing on the task at hand, Harry left the manual screen. All his drama could wait a little while longer. When he left the Strode's house this morning and saw the auto-save message pop up, he had already decided to see where this was going. He had a quest to complete and points to earn.

'Well, I'll be dammed if I don't get those bonus points.' With that, Harry decided to save scum a little more. With a quick travel to the school bathroom, he auto-saved his game and was ready for his trial. He wouldn't accept anything less than a critical success on this one.

Mr. Heathcote was there for him, as was Emma and Mr. and Mrs. Strode. His aunt, uncle and cousin were also there, but they were there for appearances' sake only. They, however, didn't matter, he had people cheering for him, regular muggles. 'Even if all this is just a game, at least it has a nice side.'

"_Reward claimed: 5 character points gained. Bonus objective completed: 3 additional character points gained"_

Helping Dudley study and helping Vernon to finish the building of a new tool shed was a very anti-climatic after that.

* * *

"_Character: Harry Potter Age: 10 Total Points: 91 Unspent: 16_

_ST: 7 (0) Fatigue: (7) 7 Parry: 7_

_DX: 9 (0) Hit Points: (8) 8 Block: -_

_IQ: 10 (20) Magic Points: (30) 30 Dodge: 5_

_HT: 9 (20) Mov. Speed 4.5 (5.5) _

_Damage: Thrust: 1d-3 Swing: 1d-3_

_Advantages: (+65) _

_Magic Aptitude +3 +0*_

_Reputation: The-boy-who-lived +3 (hero, Magical society, All the time) +0*_

_Alertness 2 +10_

_Combat Reflexes +15_

_Danger Sense +15_

_High Pain Threshold +10_

_Luck +15_

_Disadvantages: (-65) _

_10 years old (-3 ST, -1 DX, -2 IQ, -3 HT) -0*_

_Curse Scar -0*_

_Enemy: The Dark Lord -0*_

_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time) -5_

_Bad Sight -10_

_Skinny -5_

_Bad Temper -10_

_Impulsiveness -10_

_Lecherousness -15_

_Sense of duty (Hero Complex) -10_

_Skills:_

_Animal Handling (M/H) 3.5 9_

_Botany (M/H) 1 8_

_Brawling (P/E) 1 9_

_Carpentry (M/E) 2.5 11_

_Chemistry (M/H) 1 8_

_Climbing (P/A) 1.5 8_

_Cooking (M/E) 6 12_

_Ecology (M/H) 2 9_

_Fast-talk (M/A) 3 10  
_

_Gardening (M/E) 2 11_

_History (M/H) 1 8_

_Literature (M/H) 1 8_

_Mathematics (M/H) 1.5 8_

_Mechanic (M/A) 1.5 9_

_Merchant (M/A) 4.5 11_

_Painting (P/E) 2 10 _

_Physics (M/H) 1 8_

_Research (M/A) 3 10_

_Running (P/H) 3.5 8 (based on HT)_

_Sex Appeal (M/A) 2 9 (based on HT)_

_Sport: Football (P/A) 1 8_

_Stealth (P/A) 2 9_

_Woodworking (P/A) 2 9_

_Zoology (M/H) 1.5 8_

_Inventory:_

_Used summer clothes. 1Kg 0 RD, 0 PD._

_Mended Glasses. 0kg._

_0 Galleons_

_10 Pounds"_

Final note: The reputation system was loosely based on The Sims game. There your reputation was regular until one character flirts with another, on that point on, the romance 'flag' was enabled and they could fall in love, marry, etc. Here is not the same, but close enough.


	9. Chapter 9

Description: After his self-sacrifice Harry is faced with a choice, stay in limbo or play a RPG game about himself. Enough to say that stories about a character that actually chose to stay in limbo would not be a popular one... Video-game fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related, except the 7 books on my shelf. I also don't own any rights to GURPS, I own a lot of game books of it tough. No profit is being made from this piece of fiction.

A.N.: The rules described on this story are an adaptation of Steve Jackson's GURPS system. It has lots of house rules and changes to adapt to HP and "video-game" setting.

A.N.2: If you have any suggestion for simple quests, or even normal quests, feel free to volunteer them, I'm open to suggestions.

A.N.3: I'm would not call what I'm doing a time skip. But time is passing a little quicker. At the end of this chapter Harry will be in November, his third month on his video-game life. I'm just liking his 'muggle life' too much to simple rush it. Also I used this chapter to explain a little more of the rules of the game, I hope it will not be too boring.

A.N.4: Once again, thanks for all reviews. However, if you have a question or a suggestion, please log in before leaving one. I can't answer you if you leave a guest review.

A.N.5: This chapter has been Beta-ed by SupremeEntity11. All praise to him!

* * *

**Harry Potter: The RPG**

CHAPTER 9

**October 6****th**** – Nighttime**

Harry couldn't sleep that night. He was lying down on his cot inside his cupboard, his mind wandering through several scenarios. Most of them were introspective, and he was, in a way, soul-searching for a response. Looking for a north on his shaken moral compass.

Trying to distract himself, he opened his manual to the character sheet and looked at the top right corner of it. He had 16 unspent points to use.

'Should I spend my points, or should I save up and re-buy the lecherousness disadvantage?' This was his first main doubt. To him, spending points on an attribute or advantage would bring an immediate reward. He would gain a bonus to his throws or skills, and would be generally better than before. Even better, he would be overall stronger in the long run, since his attributes and advantages would not disappear and would add up with any future betterment.

Re-buying the disadvantage was not exactly possible now, but if he saved enough he would solve what he now was seeing as a major problem in his game life. His lecherousness was constantly being a source of confusion and problems, always bringing complications where they were not wanted. His life would flow much smoother if he used his points on this endeavor.

The problem was that to re-buy a disadvantage, he would have to pay double the points he had received for it at the first time. So, a 15 disadvantage point like lecherousness would cost 30 points to be removed. That translates in a net 'loss' of 15 points. These points would disappear forever and he would be 15 points 'weaker'.

If the mathematics was not enough, the psychology effect should also be considered. In a way, Harry liked being lecherous. It was fun. Flirting around, even if unsuccessful, was a great way to spend time. And if he was successful... Seeing the targeted girl blush, eyes shining, faking disinterest to hide some form of arousal and so many other little things... It is an experience so great that makes the act of grabbing the snitch on a Gryffindor-Slythering match pale in comparison.

So, Harry was in a conundrum. Looking at his character sheet, he focused on his Lecherousness disadvantage and willed for its description. The manual, as usual, complied.

"_Lecherousness: - 15 disadvantage – You suffer from an unusually strong desire for romance. Whenever in more than the briefest contact with an attractive member of the opposite sex, you must roll vs. Will (at a -5 if the other person is Beautiful, or a -10 if Very Beautiful). A failed roll means you must make a "pass," using whatever wiles or skills you can bring to bear. You must then suffer the consequences of your actions, successful or not... physical retribution, jail, communicable disease, or (possibly) an adoring new friend."_

'That description doesn't even begin to describe what this really means...' Sure it detailed some of the mechanics of it. But nowhere in its description was any mention that he would become some kind of pervert.

The bottom of whole question was that. He had become a pervert. While all the flirting was very fun, Harry had drawn the line on using his budding sex-appeal skill to make other people do his bidding. This was his way to keep his moral compass intact. However, on Friday night he had damaged this metaphorical compass. He had corrupted little Emma and then went ahead and saved over it, making those changes permanent.

Sure he could reload it and try again, but in reality he had already accepted that he would not do that. His mind was conflicted on this point. One small part kept nagging him to do what was right, but the other part, a much bigger and louder one, said that he deserved a break. Being a pervert was not such a big deal, that this game life was his big chance to do something for him, to be a little selfish. After all, Emma WANTED that, she ASKED for it and she certainly had enjoyed it. He was not a bad guy, he wouldn't abuse the trust she placed in him, right?

So, the descriptions of the disadvantages, and probably the ones for the advantages too, didn't do justice to what they really represent. Without making any real progress on his decision, Harry just contemplated all his disadvantages.

"_Disadvantages: (-65) _

_10 years old (-3 ST, -1 DX, -2 IQ, -3 HT) -0*_

_Curse Scar -0*_

_Enemy: The Dark Lord -0*_

_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time) -5_

_Bad Sight -10_

_Skinny -5_

_Bad Temper -10_

_Impulsiveness -10_

_Lecherousness -15_

_Sense of duty (Hero Complex) -10"_

'Well, now is a good time as any to read what exactly the game has to say to all of those.' Once again, the manual obliged.

"_10 years old: - 0* disadvantage – You're only a small kid. Having a small body, short arms and legs and a fragile constitution bring you a hefty reduction on you ST and HT values. Also, being young you still had trouble with your coordination so you have more propensities to fall and fumble with objects. This also reduces you DX a little bit. Your inexperience, naivete, and lack of real life experience also are represented by a reduction on your IQ attribute. Also remember that being a kid limits you on places you can go, things you can do and also activities you can participate."_

'Yes, I imagined something along this way...' Choosing the next one, another entry appears.

"_Curse Scar: -0* disadvantage – You have a very clear reminder of a traumatic experience. This curse scar is a link to a once very powerful dark wizard and will bring several problems for the character. Beyond the supernatural origin it will also function as a very effective way of being recognized by anyone familiar with the legend of the boy-who-lived. It has several hidden bad statuses. It also gives its bearer the ability to talk to snakes."_

'Not very helpful. But I know most of what this piece of Voldemort soul can do by now...'

"_Enemy: The Dark Lord: -0* disadvantage – The Dark Lord is not really gone. He will be back and has it in for you. If that was not enough, he has several followers that are ready to do his bidding and attack his enemies. The power and frequency of appearance are currently not available since this is a story related disadvantage."_

'Once again, not very helpful.'

"_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time): -5 disadvantage – Some characters are so well-known that their reputation actually becomes an advantage or a disadvantage. For game purposes, reputation affects the reaction rolls made by other people who interact with you. The kind of reputation, the area it affects, and the frequency of recognition are displayed on the advantage/disadvantage description."_

'No news here.'

"_Bad Sight: -10 disadvantage– You are nearsighted. You cannot read small print, etc. more than a foot away, or road signs, etc., at more than about 10 yards. When using a hand weapon, you are at -2 to your skill rolls. When using a thrown or missile weapon, use the modifier appropriate to double the actual distance to the target. You can acquire glasses which will compensate totally for bad sight while they are worn; Remember that accidents or head blows may knock glasses off, enemies may take them, etc."_

'Well, once again, no news. But this time is not that bad. I'm a wizard, I can charm my glasses to be unbreakable and there must be some kind of magic to make it so that the only person that can remove them is me.'

"_Skinny: -5 disadvantage – You are notably underweight. You may not take Handsome or Very Handsome appearance, and your HT may not be more than 4 points over average. Normal clothes and armor will not fit you. You will also be at -2 to your ST when you make (or resist) any Slam attack, and -2 to Disguise, or to Shadowing if you are trying to follow someone in a crowd."_

'Weirdly enough, of all the disadvantages, this one was the one I paid the least attention too. Now that I have, I'm certain that I will re-buy it at some point in the future.'

"_Bad Temper: -10 disadvantage. You are not in full control of your emotions. In any stressful situation, you must make a Will roll. A failed roll means you lose your temper, and must insult, attack or otherwise act against the cause of the stress."_

'That I already knew. Since mental disadvantages also brought changes in the way I think this would probably...' And then it hit him.

Mental disadvantages are not only game mechanics. They actually CHANGED him, the ones that he had at start described his behavior in a very accurate way. They were not just for making will checks or force him to act in a certain way. They were a huge part of his personality.

If he was to buy back Bad Temper that would change his personality. He would probably be less judgmental, more willing to tolerate other people personality traits, have a more pleasant personality overall. All of them had a secret connotation that was not described on its description.

Dreading his discovery Harry went to the next disadvantage.

"_Impulsiveness: -10 disadvantage – You hate talk and debate. You prefer action! When you are alone, you will act first and think later. In a group, when your friends want to stop and discuss something, you should put in your two cents' worth quickly - if at all - and then do something. If it is absolutely necessary to wait and ponder, you must make a Will roll to do so. _

'Holy shit! That's the reason I'm impatient all the time! That's why I don't like to stand around and just rest and relax...'

"_Sense of duty (Hero Complex): -10 disadvantage – You feel a sense of duty toward someone, you will never betray them, abandon them when they're in trouble, or even let them suffer or go hungry if you can help. If you are known to have a sense of duty, others will react to you at a +2 to trust you in a dangerous situation. (To friends and close companions only -5 points) _

_Hero Complex: You feel you have the moral higher ground and the duty to spread it to all you know it. Your strong sense of morals and conviction can bring a +1 reputation bonus with some people in certain situations, but most of the time it will give you a -1 reputation when confronted with others who have more selfish opinions. (-5 points)"_

Harry didn't need to look again at the lecherousness disadvantage. He still remembered what he had read before.

'These disadvantages define who I am.' The boy was uncomfortable. The disadvantages he had read were the main factor in his personality. When he acquired the lecherousness he had in fact changed the way he thought. Looking in a very dispassionate and logic way he could say that the disadvantage that was really bringing him problems was the sense of duty one, at least the Hero complex part of it.

'I'm conflicted because two of my disadvantages were contradictory. And the lecherousness apparently had a bigger pull because it was worthy more points.' To add insult to injury, some of his 'good' qualities were in fact disadvantages on the game system. He saw that before when he have read the honesty disadvantage. But seeing it now that he already has one of those was uncomfortable.

People say that the first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem. Harry knew he had a problem, he just liked his problem and didn't really want to get rid of it. 'I can always remove the cause of conflict and re-buy my Hero complex.'

Unwilling to give up on part of his personality for the sake of convenience, Harry decided to not re-buy anything for now. He just needed to fight the extremes more efficiently. Once again he went back to his character sheet, this time on the advantages list. After a brief search, he found what he was looking for.

"_Strong Will: +4/level advantage– You have much more "willpower" than the average person. Your level of Will is added to your IQ when you make a Will Roll for any reason, including any attempt to affect you by Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, Sex Appeal, Interrogation (with or without torture), Hypnotism, or magical attempts to take over your mind. Strong Will adds to your resistance when you want to resist a magic spell. However, this advantage does not help against combat shock, and so on."_

'That is what I need.' Strong Will did exactly what he wanted, and more. A will test was usually just an IQ one with a modifier. If he had this advantage he would gain a positive modifier and do a lot better controlling himself. The fact that Strong Will would help him in the future if he needed to resist spells raised the importance of it even higher.

He decided that at some point this advantage would have prime importance. Right now, however, he had to consider what was more advantageous: having a better chance of controlling his urges or buy something else that would bring a significant raise on his stats.

If someone else was controlling his avatar and not suffering the disadvantages effects, the answer would be clear: buy as many levels of strong will as possible until the disadvantage didn't bother anymore.

Harry however thought differently. Sure the bouts of uncontrollable flirtation were a somewhat bad thing, but he could better spend his points on an attribute or other advantage with immediate return. In the end he made a compromise and bought a single level of Strong Will. He also bought other advantage, one that was completely unrelated to his mental angst.

"_Voice: +10 advantage – You have a naturally clear, resonant and attractive voice. You get a permanent +2 bonus on all the following skills: Bard, Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, Performance, Politician, Savoir-Faire, Sex-Appeal and Singing. You also get a +2 on any reaction roll made by someone who can hear your voice."_

His reason for choosing it was that most of his problems came from social interactions, with it he neutralized his currently -2 reputation on most of his encounters and gained +2 on the two skills he used most, Sex-appeal and Fast-Talk. On his tests to raise his reputation with anyone he could say that his roll raised 4 points.

Some people would say that he was stalling and avoided his problems. Those people would probably be right.

* * *

**October 9****th**

"_Quest Completed. Reputation with Benjamin Heatcote +10"_

"_Reward claimed: ½ character point gained. ½ pointed invested on the skill: Woodworking."_

- You know lad, you could make a living out of this. We should open a shop! These cabinets look brand new.

Harry just returned the smile the old man sent his way. It was good to receive praise for his hard work. Of course, he had other reasons for being happy, after long effort, he could now finally complete his pending quest, bonus included.

"_Reward claimed: 5 character points gained. Bonus objective completed: 3 additional character points gained"_

- Yeah, they look quite good, don't they?

And they really did. Someone who looked at their final product would say that the work had been done by a professional, not an amateur and a 10 year old kid. Thanks to the game mechanics, Harry now had the skills of a professional joiner. Sure, not the skill of an expert, but maybe a somewhat new one, who had a lot to learn.

-Yes, it sure looks great. For the first time in years this old house is getting the repairs it needs. Well, for today we're finished.

While the old man gathered the used tools, he continued talking.

- You see lad, I was at the market today when some weird scene happened. Two distinctive ladies of our own Little Whinging society not only traded bad words but actually threw yogurt pots at each other.

The boy looked at the old man interested.

- Really?

The old war veteran chuckled before continuing.

- Yes. I'm not much for gossip, but I actually attended that particular show. You know both the ladies in question. The first was none other than your aunt Petunia Dursley. The other was named Arabella Figg.

Harry's eyes widened comically.

- My aunt was throwing yogurt at Mrs. Figg in the market?

Nodding, Mr. Heathcote continued.

- Yes. The worst part was the shrieks. Both of them were shrieking insults like the world was going to end. The poor lad that worked at the market had no idea what to do. Quite a scene.

The boy went quiet and started pondering what to say.

- What happened then?

The old man rose from his chair and started going in the direction of the kitchen.

- I payed for my groceries and went home. I bought that lemon flavored soda you like. Want some?

Choosing to ignore things that he couldn't change the boy answered affirmatively to his elder friend.

* * *

**October 12****th**

- Come on Harry... Let's ask for my mum to call your aunt again this week. You could sleep here again and we could... you know... again.

Emma was blushing. Harry knew perfectly what she was implying. On his reputation page he could see that her reputation value was over 900 at the moment, he couldn't resist flirting with her in school recess but he really didn't want a repeat of last week. If he let it happen frequently, things would go too far in no time.

- Its better if I don't do it too many times Emma. If I abuse it, my aunt will never let me sleep over again. We could just play around here a little bit you know? Something fun... What games do you have?

The girl looked a little disappointed but after taking a look around her room her eyes shined.

- I know! We can play house! I will be the mother, you will be the father and Lalieth can be the daughter!

The young boy looked at the mentioned dog. The small poodle was looking at the pair with it's tongue hanging and tail wagging. 'We're doomed dog, we'll be the target of girl play.'

- Okay... We can play your way then...

The blonde was jumping in place with excitement.

- Great! And since we're mom and dad, we should kiss first!

The girl then jumped into Harry's arms and started kissing him hungrily.

'Almost a normal girl. Almost'

* * *

**October 12****th**** – late evening**

A small girl's shriek was heard from the second floor of the Strode residence. Both parents lifted themselves from their place on the couch to verify what the commotion was when the sound of barefoot footsteps came running from the stairs in their direction.

- You... you... got to... help me!

A breathless Emma was trying desperately to hide behind her mother's leg from something that was coming from out of the room. Both worried parents looked at the stairs and started going in it's direction to investigate. In response another set of footsteps could be heard descending it, in a much more moderate pace, and then Harry revealed itself.

The boy was walking rigidly, his arms were extended in front of him in a crude imitation of a Frankenstein movie. Over his head, stuck in place with a shoelace was a pink stuffed octopus.

- Humans! You will all surrender to the mighty of the Heliopaths! The ministry is already taken, resistance is futile!

The couple smiled at that. His breathless daughter could not contain the stream of giggles.

- You need to help mom!

The woman was smiling wildly at the kid's antics. The father of the girl answered her plea instead.

- What can we do to stop this invasion?

The girl stooped giggling and with a somewhat serious voice answered.

- Chocolate cake! Only by eating large amounts of chocolate cake we can save ourselves! Heliopaths can't stand anything sweet!

The adult woman laughed openly now.

- If that is the only way, let's do it. Let's save the world.

The girl cheered loudly, the man clapped his hands and Harry almost split his face in two with a very wide grin.

'Being a kid is great sometimes...'

* * *

**October 17****th**

Harry was coming back from his football training. The team's coach was a little disappointed with our hero's performance but that was understandable. In the test for the school Harry's got a critical success and later, on his trial, he re-loaded till he got another. On Saturday he got lucky again and score yet another critical success consolidating the impression that he was some kind of prodigy.

Today however Harry didn't get another perfect roll. He went with his luck advantage and his football skill of 8. Not nearly as impressive as the previous results. Nevertheless, now he raised the skill one more level and had 11 points to spend.

Considering that the last 10 points he had spent raising his IQ to 11 he was not sure how to proceed.

'My IQ is 3 points above the average for my age. Maybe it's time to invest a little more on the physical side of my attributes?'

Harry had already invested 20 points on HT, raising his overall health to 2 points above average. To Harry, HT was a great attribute. It doesn't affect as much skills like DX or IQ, but it affect his well-being. That means that with every raise on HT he felt better, healthier. The fact that he gained more hit points and an increase in speed with each point was not something to dismiss either.

The least interesting attribute, in Harry's opinion, was ST. This one represented his physical strength and how much damage he could do while empty handed or with a weapon. Beyond that, ST also define how much you could lift or carry and how many fatigue points he had. Since he spent fatigue doing strenuous activities, you could say that ST also defined his endurance.

At the end, Harry decided to increase his DX. DX represented his dexterity, his overall agility and coordination, so it naturally governed a lot of physical skills. With a DX of 10, the average for an adult, Harry yet again had another increase in his football skill. Enough to satisfy his own demands, if not the demands of his coach.

'I'm having 2 football quests per week. Before Hogwarts start I'll be as good as Gary Lineker!'

Outside of the school field, his teenager enemies were once again waiting for him. The gang had obviously stopped skipping classes to ambush our young hero and stuck to weekends and other places where they knew Harry would be.

Smiling Harry used his stealth skill to avoid them and complete that simple quest. 'Fast and easy. And I'm raising a useful skill too!'

Arriving at his home he saw a very unusual scene. Half the neighborhood was watching as his aunt and Mrs. Figg screamed at each other. The old lady screamed a little at Petunia, before turning and screaming a lot at Vernon. Petunia, on the other hand, focused her fire at Mrs. Figg alone.

Dudley was next to Pier Polkiss gaping at the whole thing. Harry went near them and asked.

- What's happening?

Pier answered instead of Dudley.

- Mrs. Figg arrived a few minutes ago, rang the doorbell and started screaming at Mr. Dursley.

Still confused, the bespectacled boy inquired further.

- But why?

Pier, once again, came to the rescue.

- Mrs. Figg was saying that Mr. Dursley drove his car over one of her cats. Mr. Dursley said that it was an accident, Mrs. Figg said that he did on purpose. Then Mrs. Dursley went out of the door and started screaming. And that is still going on till now.

Harry continued to watch while both woman proclaimed their opinion of each other. His uncle, apparently tired of being screamed at, simple turned around and went inside the house. Mrs. Figg tried to follow him, but his aunt was having none of it.

They kept at it for a few more minutes before Mrs. Limmers appeared and took Mrs. Figg away. With that, the drama was finally over. All the neighbors slowly went back to their houses gossiping about the whole incident. The boy also entered in their own homes. As soon as he was inside, his uncle turned to him.

- Boy, the car is dirty. Some stupid cat got in the way when I was coming home today. Wash it. I'll need the car spotless by tomorrow morning.

Weighing his options, Harry decided to comply. Once again, this was out of his reach.

* * *

**October 19****th**

- Come in Harry, go out in the backyard, I'll come to you in a minute.

Harry left his school bag on the table of the dining room before obeying. On the back of the yard, hanging on a tree he saw a punching bag. Next to it several other items, including boxing gloves.

- Eh... Mr. Heathcote, what are you planing?

The old man reappeared carrying some very old fashioned sports equipment. He also had that very familiar green glow around him.

- You see Harry, we've been so busy for the last month that we're running out of things to do around here. So I thought: 'What does young Harry needs?' Well, you're always running from the other boys, so I decided to teach you how to defend yourself.

The eyes of the boy widened with surprise.

- No offense Mr. Heathcote, but I don't think that learning how to defend myself will help with Nathan Parker and his gang...

The old man, as usual, interrupted the boy mid sentence.

- Yes, yes. I know that. And if you were less intelligent I probably would not teach you anything because only a stupid 10 year old would try his luck against a 15 year old. This is for the future. In the future you might need to defend yourself, when that time comes you'll remember old Benjamin Heathcote and his lessons on the fine sport of boxing.

The boy could only smile at the old man's enthusiasm.

- I was at 6th place on the 1946 RAF inter-regiment boxing championship. And before you start making jokes, know that there were over 2000 people competing. So, 6th place was not that bad, I can certainly teach you something...

'Me boxing... Well, beats gardening or cooking. Maybe someday I'll punch Voldemort in the face.'

* * *

**October 21****th**

"_You raised a reputation all the way to 1000. This is the maximum amount of reputation anyone can have. The person you raised this reputation with now likes you more than anything else in the world. He, or she, will kill and die for you. No favor is too big, or any obstacle is too large when it comes to your well being. When you achieve this amount, the reputation bar is locked. You cannot group this person and it's value will not decay. It is also very hard to lower this value, only extremely bad actions could have any impact on it._

_If you you achieve this value by romantic avenues, now the person worships you. Nothing you will ever do could be wrong on her/his eyes. Jealousy ceases to be a problem and the person will tolerate a huge amount of abuse before losing any reputation point. Beware that rejection at this point will not be well received and could cause some extreme reactions."_

'This doesn't looks good.'

Harry was currently in Little Whinging park. He and Emma were in the wooded area and the boy was just flirting with her. The girl answered, as usual, very positively and was currently doing her best to emulate some kissing she saw in movies. Tongue included.

The boy stopped the kissing to have a good look at his lady friend. Her eyes were shining with happiness and she really looked like a lovestruck puppy. Looking at him, she sighted in deeply contentment.

- I love you so much Harry. The best day of my life was when I met you. I just didn't know that.

It was really wrong, Harry knew it. However he could not avoid smiling. Throwing caution to the wind he leaned closer and resumed kissing.

'It's just a game. I'll enjoy it while I can.'

* * *

**October 31****th**

'Today practice was good.' Harry was currently walking Mr. Zhukov dogs and reminiscing about his day. Today was Wednesday and, as usual, he had football practice. In preparation for said practice, Harry spent his hard earned points on yet another DX point. Long gone were the days were his skill on football was an 8, now it stands on a solid 12 and he could call himself a competent player.

Sure, other people could call this a bad move on his part, but Harry was content to be a little more athletic. He haven't noticed how much he missed quidditch and how much being part of a team meant to him. So he raised his DX, and in consequence raised his skill at the sport. With a bigger skill, he was succeeding on his skill test by a wider margin and that reflected on a much better performance. He was on the path to be, once again, the star player. Just on a different sport.

- Here Mr. Zhukov! The big boys are back, they exercised and all went to the bathroom.

The man with the big mustache nodded at the boy.

- Thank you Mr. Potter. The boys are now used to you, they didn't cause any problem did they?

Harry had a skill of Animal-Handling of 11, and with the use of the luck advantage it was a piece of cake to be a dog-walker.

- No problem at all Mr. Zhukov. They are excellent dogs.

The man was happy with the compliment and payed the boy his 2 pounds. 'People around here sure were cheap.' Not one to complain, specially when he knew that he had a vault full of gold waiting for him, Harry just smiled and went on his way.

Arriving on his house Harry found an unusual scene. In front of Nº4 was a fully loaded car and a very sad looking Mrs. Figg. Once she saw the dark haired boy she went out of the car and walked on his direction.

- Harry, I've come to say goodbye.

Our protagonist was surprised and expressed it.

- Goodbye? Why? Where are you going?

The old lady lowered herself and gave a tight hug to the boy.

- I'm moving out Harry. I'm leaving Little Whinging.

Stunned, the boy could only stare at the woman.

- You see Harry, during this last month I have been becoming another person. This story between me and Petunia has gone too far. The Dursleys are horrible people Harry. Really, really horrible. And to successful fight your aunt, I was letting myself become like her. I don't want that. I'm a better person than that. I forced myself into believing that I needed to stay. To protect you from their influence, if nothing else, but you don't need me anymore.

The boy opened his mouth to argue, but the old woman just silenced him with a finger on his lips.

- That's true, silly boy. You grown so much in the last few weeks. And you now have a very fierce protector. Benjamin is a good man. He may not show, but I know he loves you very much. He will help you. You can count on him.

Crying lightly the woman kissed the boy on the forehead before rising.

- I'll send you letters Harry. We'll see each other in the future. This is not a simple goodbye, it's more like a see you later.

The old woman entered the car and left. Harry stood on the sidewalk a long time after the car disappeared on a corner.

- I'll miss you Mrs. Figg.

* * *

**November 9****th**

In the late evening, we find our hero returning from his girlfriend's house. He was quiet, thoughtful.

Once again he had to reload several times to pass the modified will roll to avoid making a pass at Mrs. Strode. Since Emma's mom was beautiful, Harry had a -5 modifier and as such failed a few times before he could control himself. If that was not enough, Emma once again was VERY straightforward on her intentions. Only the fact that Harry hadn't hit puberty saved the duo from going too far.

Strong Will haven't worked as promised on this front. To resist his urge to flirt with older women at inappropriate times it did the job perfectly, usually reducing the -10 or -5 penalty to a -9 or -4. In his 'Emma situation' the advantage worked exactly the opposite of what he was expecting.

The problem was that mental advantages, like the disadvantages, also influenced his behavior. Since he bought Strong Will, he reinforced his convictions. All of them. And, since lecherousness was 'worth' more points than his hero complex, Harry unconsciously reinforced his perverted behavior in detriment of his righteous one.

The green-eyed boy could not notice these particularities and as such, oblivious to these details, Harry was thinking on spending his near future points on buying even more levels of Strong Will. Flirting out of time was the problem, internal conflicts and his usual mental angst were giving space for his new determination.

Even busy with his planning, the boy saw the unusual movement with a fair warning. In front of the house once occupied by Mrs. Figg was a parked truck. From its open back, two workers were unloading several boxes a bringing them inside.

Standing next to the truck, wearing a very shabby set of 'muggle' clothes was a familiar face. A face coming directly from his old life.

- What, in the Queen's name, is Mundungus Fletcher doing in Little Whinging?

* * *

"_Character: Harry Potter Age: 10 Total Points: 179.5 Unspent: 3.5_

_ST: 7 (0) Fatigue: (7) 7 Parry: 7_

_DX: 12 (30) Hit Points: (8) 8 Block: -_

_IQ: 11 (30) Magic Points: (30) 30 Dodge: 5_

_HT: 9 (20) Mov. Speed 5 (6.125) _

_Damage: Thrust: 1d-3 Swing: 1d-3_

_Advantages: (+79) _

_Magic Aptitude +3 +0*_

_Reputation: The-boy-who-lived +3 (hero, Magical society, All the time) +0*_

_Alertness 2 +10_

_Combat Reflexes +15_

_Danger Sense +15_

_High Pain Threshold +10_

_Luck +15_

_Strong Will +1 +4_

_Voice +10_

_Disadvantages: (-65) _

_10 years old (-3 ST, -1 DX, -2 IQ, -3 HT) -0*_

_Curse Scar -0*_

_Enemy: The Dark Lord -0*_

_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time) -5_

_Bad Sight -10_

_Skinny -5_

_Bad Temper -10_

_Impulsiveness -10_

_Lecherousness -15_

_Sense of duty (Hero Complex) -10_

_Skills:_

_Animal Handling (M/H) 5.5 11_

_Botany (M/H) 1 9_

_Boxing (P/A) 4 13_

_Brawling (P/E) 1 12_

_Carpentry (M/E) 3 12_

_Chemistry (M/H) 2 10_

_Climbing (P/A) 2 12_

_Cooking (M/E) 10.5 15_

_Ecology (M/H) 2 10_

_Fast-talk (M/A) 5.5 14 (+2 due to voice)_

_Gardening (M/E) 4 13_

_History (M/H) 1 9_

_Literature (M/H) 2 10_

_Mathematics (M/H) 1.5 9_

_Mechanic (M/A) 2.5 11_

_Merchant (M/A) 7.5 13_

_Painting (P/E) 2.5 13 _

_Physics (M/H) 1 9  
_

_Research (M/A) 5.5 12_

_Running (P/H) 4.5 9 (based on HT)_

_Sex Appeal (M/A) 2 11 (based on HT, +2 due to voice)_

_Sport: Football (P/A) 5 13_

_Stealth (P/A) 3 12_

_Woodworking (P/A) 4.5 13_

_Zoology (M/H) 2.5 10_

_Inventory:_

_Used summer clothes. 1Kg 0 RD, 0 PD._

_Mended Glasses. 0kg._

_0 Galleons_

_19 Pounds"_

Final Note: If Harry won't go to the Wizarding world, the Wizarding world goes to him.


	10. Chapter 10

Description: After his self-sacrifice Harry is faced with a choice, stay in limbo or play a RPG game about himself. Enough to say that stories about a character that actually chose to stay in limbo would not be a popular one... Video-game fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related, except the 7 books on my shelf. I also don't own any rights to GURPS, I own a lot of game books of it tough. No profit is being made from this piece of fiction.

A.N.: The rules described on this story are an adaptation of Steve Jackson's GURPS system. It has lots of house rules and changes to adapt to HP and "video-game" setting.

A.N.2: If you have any suggestion for simple quests, or even normal quests, feel free to volunteer them, I'm open to suggestions.

A.N.3: Once again, thanks for all reviews. However, if you have a question or a suggestion, please log in before leaving one. I can't answer you if you leave a guest review.

A.N.4: This chapter has been Beta-ed by SupremeEntity11. All praise to him!

**Harry Potter: The RPG**

CHAPTER 10

**November 10****th**

The mystery of Mundungus Fletcher had to wait. Saturday, November 10th was a big day for Harry. On this day, Harry was going to participate in his first football match of the season.

After a month of training twice a week, now Harry's team was going to face its first opponent: Pyrcroft Grange Primary School, from Chertsey Surrey. Little Whinging was the underdog on that one, but Harry was confident that his team had a chance, at least with HIM playing.

The match, however, would happen only in the afternoon. After having cooked breakfast that morning, the boy was now washing his uncle's car to fulfill his Saturday routine. He never finished it though. In the middle of the morning a car parked on the side walk. Not just any car though, this car was a 1963 Aston Martin DB5. The metallic beauty was just sitting there, shining on the cloudy day. The door opened and a very smug Benjamin Heathcote came out smiling at the young boy.

- You fixed it Mr. Heathcote! I can't believe it!

The old man closed the door and came closer to the dark haired boy. Both boy and old man stood there just appreciating the amazing car.

- Well Harry, I told you I would do it, and I did. Came out of the shop yesterday. The car is good as new. I couldn't wait to show it to you. Do you want to come for a ride?

The boy was awestruck. That was the James Bond car! According to Mr. Heathcote, 'The real Bond' car. After all, the old war veteran was a firm believer that the 'real' James Bond was the one played by Sean Connery. Being an enthusiast of the James Bond franchise, the old man was shocked that Harry hadn't watched the movies and made sure to cover this 'lack in his education'.

Not satisfied by just owning copies of every movie and book, some twenty years ago the old man bought himself an Aston Martin. Same model and year as the one used in the iconic movie: Goldfinger.

- Laura loved this car. It was in the garage since her death. That will be seven years ago in a few months...

While the old man was reminiscing, Harry was studying the details. Whoever made the restoration did a great job and the automobile was a vision in the otherwise boring Privet Drive.

- Well lad, let's go then! No time to waste! You can be my first passenger on this beauty. I promise I won't eject the passenger seat!

Looking at the sponge in his hand and at his unfinished work the boy could only sigh.

- I can't Mr. Heathcote. Not now. I need to finish washing my uncle's car first. You see...

As was his habit, the old man cut our hero mid-sentence.

- Yes, yes. Vernon Dursley. I will talk to him. Go ready yourself. We'll be leaving shortly.

Dropping the sponge in the bucket, Harry saluted before going inside the house.

* * *

The ride in Mr. Heathcote newly restored car led Harry to a sports equipment store. The boy was surprised, and really moved, when the old man, in his no-nonsense way, simply told him that he needed new football boots and they were here to get some new ones. Harry tried to argue, but was completely disregarded by his elder who said: "Well, if you can't decide which one you want, better ask the salesperson."

And then he proceeded to do as he had said. All the boy said and tried to do was noted and then ignored. The boy went out of the store with a very overpriced, in his opinion, brand new Adidas football boot and shin guard. New white football socks were also purchased and the only thing that was left was the uniform. That would come later directly from the team's coach.

The boy, once again, was warm inside. These little things were very precious for a person used to emotional neglect. For the old man was completely worth it. Sure he didn't owe the little man anything, but he could certainly spare a few pounds buying some sports equipment. There was a little left over after he bought himself an Aston Martin after all.

Later the pair went to lunch at a fancy restaurant, there the war veteran, once again, shared some of his hilarious stories and then volunteered very important hints and tips about football. People who watched the scene would spontaneously smile at the obviously happy and talkative old man and his enraptured young pupil.

And as such the boy and old man arrived at the football field. Kids and parents were everywhere and the climate was festive. To make it all better, Harry's coach was glowing. Not the regular green glow of a daily quest or even the silver glow of a regular one. It was a beautiful golden glow. Something new, and promising, in Harry's new gamer life. As was expected of every unusual situation, a hint appeared explaining this new development.

"_You found your first long-term quest. A long-term quest requires great efforts by the player and cannot be completed in a single go. They may be really time-consuming, need a gigantic amount of effort or simply obey a fixed schedule; nevertheless you cannot solve them in a single day. To reflect that they give the best character points rewards, their bonus rewards are pretty challenging but can earn you a real boost for your total points. Good luck in pursuing them!"_

Hastily the boy opened the manual to see his new quest description. There, in golden letters was written:

"_The Football Championship:_

_Make little Whinging this season's champion to complete this quest._

_Bonus: Win every match!"_

'Hum, that's tough. I should have chosen tennis or any other individual sport.' The problem was that Harry was involved in a team sport.

Harry currently 'Sports: Football' was currently at a level 13. 13 represented a skilled person level, he had approximately 83% success chance on his skill roll. That was great roll, especially considering that our protagonist was only a 10 years old kid with supposed limited skill points and a negative modifier on his base DX.

Harry already did the math for this situation. The majority of his team players, and probably his adversaries, should be at level 10 or lower, at least by his estimations. He came up with this number by analyzing a number of factors. Primarily he had the average DX score of 10 years old, and that would be a 9. Considering that he was dealing with 'athlete' kids maybe he would be dealing with DX 10 kids, and the eventual 11. Since 'Sports: Football' was a (P/A), which means that it was a physical skill of average difficulty, it needed two character points invested on the specific skill to have a level equal to the DX value.

Harry was playing on arcade mode, as such the amount of points invested in a skill didn't mean much to him other than grinding a few quests. However, to all the other NPCs, non-player characters, character points invested in skills equals training time. Every 500 hours of self-study, or 250 hours of supervised training, meant a character point invested in the skill. 2 character points on football meant 500 hours of practice with a teacher. Harry's team gathered twice a week, 2 hours each time, for a very modest 4 hours week worth of training.

Doing the math you reach the impressive 152 weeks' worth of training needed to represent the 2 points 'effort' to have a DX score on the selected sport. Sure, you would have self study counting in the middle, but nevertheless 152 weeks translated roughly in about 3 years of being a member of a football club with a lot of time doing 'self-study' inserted into it. Not an easy feat for 10 years old.

So, the most plausible scenario would be that his opponents, and his teammates, would have only one point invested on the relevant skill. That translated on a DX-1 level. Harry would be facing boys with 9 and 10 skill levels with the occasional 11 enthusiast in the mix. At least for the athletic kids, considering that these teams were not what you would call professional, it would not be a surprise if Harry found himself playing with kids of skill level 8 or even 7.

Since the math worked on Harry's teammates as much it worked on his adversaries, the boy could only hope that his part in it was enough to balance out the unskilled boys on his team. Our hero couldn't control other people's throws, all he could do was use his luck advantage and hope for the best.

Game mechanics aside, Emma and her parents were waiting for him. The small blonde girl jumped into his arms hugging him and started kissing his cheeks several times before she remembered the duo were in plain sight of a lot of adults and other kids. With a quick "good luck", the beet red girl went back to her amused parents.

Surprisingly, the Dursleys were also in attendance. Wearing their best Sunday clothes, his relatives stood out like a sore thumb, and the boy could not imagine why they were there. His cousin, however, smiled his way and sent a thumbs up signal encouragingly. 'Yeah, his reputation is at 60 something right now. That means that he doesn't hate me anymore.'

Mr. Heathcote sat with the Strodes and the small group chatted happily while waiting for the beginning of the match. Everything was going as expected, the uniforms were distributed, the coach delivered his motivational speech and both teams were already warming up when the referee appeared. In his hands, the ball had a silver glow on it.

"_A Football game:_

_Win the game."_

A simple regular quest with no bonus. Since he was on a golden quest to win the championship, you could say that this quest was a bonus in itself. Nonetheless, our hero was happy with this new development. If this pattern repeated every week, he would be looking at a steady income of points from the football match alone. Now, all he had to do was win.

When the whistle blew and the game started, Harry was expecting to play the match and at the end of it have a skill roll deciding his performance. Just like a regular training. That was not what happened.

The rolls started at the beginning. Every time he passed or he received a pass, he made a roll. Every time he looked to position himself on the field, he made a roll. Every time he looked around to see where the other players were, from his team or the opposite one, he made a roll. The sheer number of it made his luck advantage completely useless.

Steeling his determination, the boy decided to ignore the game mechanics and focus only on the match. And with that the fun began. Harry was not interested if he won the skill contest with the adversary and stole the ball, he was just happy he did it. Sure, his alertness skill gave him a positive modifier to detect his opponent's position on the field, but that was not as important as evading them and going forward in the direction of the goal.

And the goals... Scoring three goals before half-time alone was great! Surely, once it was obvious that Harry was some kind of star player, the adversary tried to stop him, but by then the damage was done. Harry was fast and skilled. He could not be outplayed.

What did happen, however, was that our young protagonist became a target of dirty tactics. Bulkier adversaries started bumping on him on purpose just to see him drop easily on the ground. Harry may be fast and skilled, but he was also skinny and as such he would almost always lose in these confrontations.

Harry's lack of ST also presented itself in his low fatigue score. After just a few minutes, the boy had to slow down significantly or face exhaustion. That was the major reason the boy hadn't steamrolled over the other team by himself.

At the end, Harry's team won by 5 to 0. Harry made 4 of his team's goals and was carried on the shoulder of an ecstatic coach to his relatives. In a weird scene his aunt and uncle looked very smug receiving compliments for our hero's performance. As if to crown his achievements, Harry once again received a system message.

"_Quest completed. Reputation with Vernon Dursley +20. Reputation with Petunia Dursley +20. Reputation with Little Whinging +10" _

'Well, I'll be dammed... Miracles do happen.'

"_Reward claimed: 3 character points gained."_

* * *

**November 16****th**

Harry's week had been hectic. Tuesday the boy overheard his aunt, his glowing silver aunt, talking to his uncle at the phone. From what he heard, Harry concluded that his uncle wanted to sponsor a business dinner at their house and impress two Grunnings important shareholders. Petunia was hesitating because that represented 6 extra people to feed and entertain, one of the couples had two kids, and as such denied her husband's request.

Harry quest consisted of two parts: First he needed to convince his aunt to actually accept and help her to do the best possible dinner party he could. If he wanted to score the bonus, the boy needed to actually impress the guest so much that they would offer his uncle a promotion. Simple, and at the same time very difficult.

Convincing his aunt to change her mind was actually the easier part of the job. A simple fast-talk was enough to change it. He had, after all, a skill level of 15 on it and was by now very persuasive in his arguments, his aunt 11 IQ was not nearly enough to resist him, even if he didn't use his luck advantage.

Making sure that the party was a success required a lot more effort. First he once again had to do a fast-talk roll and convince Vernon to investigate what kind of food the guests liked best. Vernon delivered, according to him, both of them particularly liked the French cousine so the choice for menu was already made. Harry only needed how to cook like a French chef.

Harder than that was convincing his aunt to let him do all the cooking. He was pretty sure that with his skill level 15 on cooking he was already a better cook than her, but with his luck advantage it was not even a contest. Once again fast-talk came through and his aunt 'decided' that the day would be better spent if she went shopping and working on her hair.

After using his amazing research skills at the local library and choosing the perfect recipe for the event, Harry was also entrusted with the mission of actually buying all the stuff at the grocery store. Sure, none of his relatives were expecting him to do any of this, the boy had to actually convince the grown-ups to let him do it. In Harry's view, if he did the stuff, he could perfectly control the outcome of it. If other people did it, then it was a matter of chance.

At the library our hero also looked for a few general tips on etiquette rules and unlocked the savoir-faire skill. Spending half a character point on it guarantees that he would not behave like a marauding Viking, and probably would make him appear more cultured and refined than any of his relatives.

Harry also had to convince his aunt and uncle to let him participate in the dinner itself AND interact with the guest. That required the use of his luck advantage since the negative modifier put him in a difficult position on this check. Nevertheless he succeeded, his aunt even bought him new clothes to "make him presentable."

That was all before dinner preparations. Once the guests arrived, Harry went as far as removing all six of them from their currently reputation group, British Muggles, so that he could upgrade their opinions accordingly.

His uncle would probably never thank him enough for what he did next. Since the dinner actually happened on nº 4, Harry was free to save his game at his heart's content. Abusing his save scumming rights the boy make sure to sweet talk every single guest with his best fast-talk checks. He replaced theirs reaction rolls with fast-talk ones and reloaded several times until he got a critical success on every try. The only exception was the 14 year old Jessica Mercer, she was not particularly pretty, but for the principle of the thing, the boy went with a sex-appeal approach. To Harry the somewhat plain girl was much prettier when she was purple from embarrassment and hidden arousal.

To put it simply, the guests loved him. He was funny, charming and enticing. He was also provocative, irreverent and, in one case, sexy. The food was received with enthusiasm and his uncle and aunt were completely flabbergasted at how their freak of a nephew could handle such distinguished guests with such ease.

After dinner the charming 10 year old proceed to convince full grown and wealthy executives that would be on their best interest to give his uncle a promotion. The modifier was utterly irrelevant, Harry had the almighty power of the save-scumming gods at his side. If that was not going beyond the call of duty, Harry didn't know what it was.

When Vernon went to escort his two guests out of the house, the remaining three family members were eagerly waiting for his return. When it happened, Vernon closed the door behind him and released a long sigh.

"Petunia, Dudley and... Boy. You're now looking at the new Vice-president of Grunnings Drills!"

"_Quest Completed. Reputation with Vernon Dursley +150. Reputation with Petunia Dursley +100."_

Petunia launched herself at her husband and kissed him several times. Both boys turned to the other side so they wouldn't look at the scene, Dudley even made puking sounds and gestures. Once the couple was separated Petunia went to the kitchen to start cleaning the mess and Dudley went upstairs to take off the dress shoes and bow tie. Harry was beginning to go help his aunt when his uncle talked to him.

"Boy. Wait a moment. I need to talk to you." Our hero turned. He did everything perfectly, so he was probably not going to be punished. "Listen, you did okay today. You carried your own weight and did your part so that this evening was the best it could have been. So... What I want to say is... Hum... Thank you?"

The last part sounded more like a question than a statement of gratitude. Harry's uncle looked really uncomfortable and didn't know what to do or how to act on this particular front. The skinny boy and the fat man stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments before the bigger one ordered the smaller one. "Go help your aunt. You can't sleep too late today since you have a football game tomorrow, you're traveling for this one if I'm not mistaken. Just go and finish everything up then you can sleep."

Weirdly that was probably the most civil conversation his uncle had had with him in both his lives.

"_Reward claimed: 5 character points gained. Bonus objective completed: 3 additional character points gained"_

* * *

**November 18****th**

After cooking breakfast Harry watched his relatives reading themselves to go to the church. It was a cold day and for the first time ever, Harry's uncle offered the boy the chance to stay in the house by himself. The offer was mixed with a threat, but it was undoubtedly progress. Apparently game mechanics weren't affected only by disadvantages or advantages but also cause change in behavior if you can modify people's reputation. He had prior evidence of it with Emma, Mr. Heathcote and Dudley, but seeing the difference with his aunt and uncle was another thing entirely.

Thanking his uncle for the offer, our hero decided to follow his routine and have his Sunday walk around the neighborhood. He had better things to do than watch TV all morning. Curious about the current reputation numbers, the boy opened the manual and went to check them.

'Yeap. My relatives do not hate me anymore. At least I think so. They are more on the deeply dislike category now.'

Looking at the new names from Vernon's dinner party Harry decided that he probably would never see this people again. As such, their names were only occupying space and confusing the reputation with the people he chosen to care about. Obeying Harry's command, the manual grouped the names back were they came from. The end result looked like these:

"_Relationship: Group Reputation:_

_Petunia Dursley -340 Little Whinging -192_

_Vernon Dursley -375 British Muggles 32_

_Dudley Dursley 158_

_Arabella Figg 350_

_Emma Strode 1000 – Worship_

_Paul Strode 313_

_Natalie Strode 309_

_Benjamim Heathcote 971"_

'Wow this group reputation is broken.' Harry stared at the new group reputation and it's amazing 32 reputation stat. When he grouped the names of Vernon's guests 1% of the reputation score with them was added to the group. So the 500 reputation with Mr. Mercer, gained with a critical score on his fast-talk skill, added a +5 reputation with the British Muggles when he went back to the group.

It may look like a bad decision to do at first, but when you consider the sheer number of people the British Muggles represent you could say it was really a bargain. Now every muggle he interacts with would be subjected to a 32 reputation rating and that was not bad at all.

'In the future I will definitively abuse this broken rule.'

Mr. Heathcote was very near the maximum reputation allowed. That meant that soon he would not need to make any of the fast-talk checks to raise it and could, finally, just talk with the man without trying very hard to impress and please him. He liked the old man and felt that the usage of his skill was too much like manipulation for his tastes. Even if he was not asking, or gaining, anything for it.

The other values were all climbing steadily. Dudley most of them all. Soon enough Harry's cousin could be counted as one of the people that were willing, according to the game, to kill or die for him. It was a very weird change on the status of things, but a good change nonetheless.

Closing the manual, Harry left the reflections to another time and went for his stroll. First order was, once again, go to Mundungos place. For someone put there with the obvious mission of keeping an eye on Harry, the magical thief was sure scarce. The boy snorted imagining the old drunk following Mrs. Figg steps and offering Little Whinging parents to take care of their children.

Hugging his coat closely to better protect himself from the cold, the boy finally arrived at Mrs. Figg's old place. There, on the front yard, our protagonist found his new watcher Mr. Fletcher. The man however was not expecting him, or even acknowledged the boys presence. The reason for that was that the distinguished gentleman was passed out cold on the grass in front of his house.

Next to the man was an owl. The kind of owl that was usually rented to make deliveries. The feathered animal was carrying a small bag with several copies of the magic newspaper and obviously waited for any kind of response from its unconscious client.

"Wow, didn't know that waiting for hours in the cold was part of the job little friend. Your job sucks in times like these..." The boy imagined that if owls could shrug, that one would be doing it by now. "Let me see if I can find some spare change with him so that you can go on your way."

Handling a drunken Mundungos was not, in any way, pleasant. The man had many pockets and a lot of them appeared to be full of junk and weird trinkets. The smell of the unconscious man was also horrible and simply being close to him was enough to make Harry dizzy. Nevertheless, the boy didn't give up. Looking carefully he found on a small pocket a handful of coins and paid the bird, receiving a newspaper in return.

During the search, the boy also found the drunken man wand and a set of keys. Pocketing the wand the boy looked at the keys and then at the house's door. "If starts raining you could possibly die from hypothermia. Don't want that in my conscience."

Decision made, the 10 years old grabbed the older man's hand and started to slowly drag him on the doors direction.

* * *

When Mrs. Figg came to say her goodbyes, Harry saw her left in a car full with her personal belongings. Obviously at some other time a moving truck came and cleaned her place up. Currently her old house had none of her furniture present. No tables, no chairs, no sofas or couches, nothing. All Harry could see was the kitchen cabinets and the oven.

Dragging the man inside was not as difficult as you would have imagined. Harry spent almost all his points earned in the last 10 days buying ST. The boy now had a value of 9 on that attribute and could count himself one of the strongest 10 year olds in Surrey. The choice to raise it was made mostly because of his first football game. Harrys was bothered that his playing skills were limited by his, relatively low endurance and constant blunder with heavier kids.

Sure, our hero could have had bought back his skinny disadvantage, but decided to invest point on ST instead. Gaining more fatigue points made possible for him to play a much more decisive role on the field, making his higher skill and speed be were the ball was most of the time. Harry was now probably stronger than Dudley and gained at least 2 inches in height.

To conclude: ST was very useful when dragging unconscious drunk people around. After leaving the man lying in the middle of the living room Harry decide to explore the empty house a little. The impression our hero had was that someone gave a homeless person an empty house. The bum would move in, but would not buy anything to fill the space. Litter was accumulating in small mounds everywhere and not a single garbage can could be seen anywhere. Apart from the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, all Mundungos had was a mattress and a dozen boxes filled with what appeared to be donated clothes and junk.

'What am I going to do with you Dung?'

* * *

After lunch the boy returned to the adult wizard's house. The wand the boy had couldn't produce a single spark when waved. If that was not enough, the boy couldn't remember how to cast a single spell from his previous life. It was disappointing, yes, but not unexpected. 'I will need to save some points for when I went to Hogwarts. I'm sure that I'll have to spent points on everything I will want to learn there.'

While the man slept Harry gathered several editions of the Daily Prophet. The newspaper was just like he remembered and only printed sensationalistic news and gossip pieces. Nevertheless the boy entertained himself by reading all about the current events and the quidditch championship status. He only stopped when, by middle afternoon, the house owner started groaning.

"Hello Mr. Fletcher. Are you finally awake or should I wait a little longer?"

The man turned to the boy's direction and simply stared at him from his position on the ground. The kid, who was siting cross legged not far from the man's head, lowered the newspaper to look at the man before continuing.

"Since you are awake, can I get you anything? Maybe a glass of water? I heard that will help with the headaches that come after a night of heavy drinking…"

The man grunted something unintelligible as his response. Our protagonist shrugged and decided to get some water anyway.

"I didn't find any glass, so I got this mug. Apparently you don't have soap or a sponge so I washed it just with water. I suppose you don't mind, right?"

Extending the mug full of tap water the boy watched the man struggle to sit and take the offered drink. After a big gulp the man finally asked. "What are you doing in my house?"

The boy smiled before answering. "First things first: I'm Harry Potter, I live a few blocks away. Nice to meet you. I found you lying unconscious in your front yard. Since today is really cold I searched your pockets, found your keys and then dragged you inside."

The man looked at the boy for a while before finally talking. "You're welcome I 'suppose. I'm called Fletcher. Mundungos Fletcher. People call me Dung."

"Well. Hello to you Dung. I suppose it falls to me to welcome you to the neighborhood. You certainly don't look like the kind of person that usually moves here."

The man nodded before shrugging. "Yeah. I'm not from these parts. But a roof is a roof. A man has to crash somewhere…"

Harry nodded in agreement. "You're right on that one. So, what is a wizard like you is doing in Little Whinging?"

The man gaped at the boy saying nothing for a few moments. "How… How did you?"

In response the boy raised the newspaper he was currently reading and then pointed at the neatly stacked pile of newspapers at his side. To finalize the boy picked and showed the wand that was lying behind all the papers.

"Yeah… That'll do. Hum… I really mucked things up on this one… Hum… Bathroom first, we talk later." The man got himself standing and went groggily in the bathroom direction. "Ah… I'm going to need my wand now. You see… I don't exactly have toilet paper…"

The boy held out the wooden stick to the man and watched as he grabbed the object and went to do his business. The man was an irresponsible drunk, a shameless thief and an overall bad excuse for a human being, nevertheless he was a wizard. Not a particular clever or accomplished one, but he would have to do.

'He obviously was not supposed to reveal anything about the magical world to me. Not 10 days in Little Whinging and he already screwed up big time. I barely met him and he already is in my debt. This has a lot of potential.'

Listening to the man coughing, farting and relieving himself, the boy could not deny that the man was unpleasant. But Harry understood everything about unpleasantness. He lived with Vernon and Petunia after all.

* * *

_"__Character: Harry Potter Age: 10 Total Points: 209 Unspent: 6 _

_ST: 9 (20) Fatigue: (9) 9 Parry: 7_

_DX: 12 (30) Hit Points: (9) 9 Block: -_

_IQ: 11 (30) Magic Points: (30) 30 Dodge: 5_

_HT: 9 (20) Mov. Speed 5.25 (6.375) _

_Damage: Thrust: 1d-2 Swing: 1d-1_

_Advantages: (+79) _

_Magic Aptitude +3 +0*_

_Reputation: The-boy-who-lived +3 (hero, Magical society, All the time) +0*_

_Alertness 2 +10_

_Combat Reflexes +15_

_Danger Sense +15_

_High Pain Threshold +10_

_Luck +15_

_Strong Will +1 +4_

_Voice +10_

_Disadvantages: (-65) _

_10 years old (-3 ST, -1 DX, -2 IQ, -3 HT) -0*_

_Curse Scar -0*_

_Enemy: The Dark Lord -0*_

_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time) -5_

_Bad Sight -10_

_Skinny -5_

_Bad Temper -10_

_Impulsiveness -10_

_Lecherousness -15_

_Sense of duty (Hero Complex) -10_

_Skills:_

_Animal Handling (M/H) 6.5 12_

_Botany (M/H) 2 10_

_Boxing (P/A) 5 13_

_Brawling (P/E) 1 12_

_Carpentry (M/E) 3 12_

_Chemistry (M/H) 2 10_

_Climbing (P/A) 2 12_

_Cooking (M/E) 12.5 16_

_Ecology (M/H) 2 10_

_Fast-talk (M/A) 6 15 (+2 due to voice)_

_Gardening (M/E) 4.5 13_

_History (M/H) 2 10_

_Literature (M/H) 2 10_

_Mathematics (M/H) 2 10_

_Mechanic (M/A) 2.5 11_

_Merchant (M/A) 7.5 13_

_Painting (P/E) 2.5 13 _

_Physics (M/H) 1 9_

_Research (M/A) 6 13_

_Running (P/H) 5 9 (based on HT)_

_Savoir-Faire (M/E) 0.5 12 (+2 due to voice)_

_Sex Appeal (M/A) 2 11 (based on HT, +2 due to voice)_

_Sport: Football (P/A) 5.5 13_

_Stealth (P/A) 3 12_

_Woodworking (P/A) 4.5 13_

_Zoology (M/H) 2.5 10_

_Inventory:_

_Used winter clothes. 1Kg 1 DR, 0 PD._

_Mended Glasses. 0kg._

_0 Galleons_

_28 Pounds"_

* * *

Final Note: Trying to remove the – dash, before spoken language. Some of the readers felt really strongly about it so I changed it. I won't backtrack and edit the others chapters but from now on I should use the new standard.

About a week ago I got myself a copy of Last of Us for my old PS3. Blame it for the lateness of this chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

Description: After his self-sacrifice Harry is faced with a choice, stay in limbo or play a RPG game about himself. Enough to say that stories about a character that actually chose to stay in limbo would not be a popular one... Video-game fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related, except the 7 books on my shelf. I also don't own any rights to GURPS, I own a lot of game books of it tough. No profit is being made from this piece of fiction.

A.N.: The rules described on this story are an adaptation of Steve Jackson's GURPS system. It has lots of house rules and changes to adapt to HP and "video-game" setting.

A.N.2: If you have any suggestion for simple quests, or even normal quests, feel free to volunteer them, I'm open to suggestions.

A.N.3: Once again, thanks for all reviews. However, if you have a question or a suggestion, please log in before leaving one. I can't answer you if you leave a guest review.

A.N.4: This chapter has been Beta-ed by SupremeEntity11. All praise to him!

**Harry Potter: The RPG**

CHAPTER 11

The talk between Harry and Dung went better than the boy expected. The man was very grateful when our hero offered to cook something after seeing the old man struggle with the oven. Both of them talked while the meal was prepared.

"You have potatoes, sausages and ketchup. You have only one pan and no kitchen knife, 2 plates and no glasses, and yet you have silverware for 12 people here... I'll try my best, but I can't really guarantee anything with these ingredients."

The man just shrugged. "Ate plen'y of bad 'ings in me life. It can' be that much worse."

Nodding and resuming his work, the boy decided that now was a good time to initiate his interrogation.

"So, what are you doing here in Little Whinging?"

The man hesitated, drank a long swig from his water mug, grimaced and then finally answered.

"Not s'posed to talk 'bout it. You're not s'posed to know 'bout wizards and t'ings like that. I'm to live 'ere and keep an eye on ya, 'at's all."

The boy was surprised by the statement. This was way too easy, he didn't even need to use his fast-talk skills.

"You say that someone put you here to keep an eye on me? Who? Why?"

The man was used his finger to scratch an itch inside his ear before answering.

"Ye're not s'posed to know, but I t'ink you're an a'right chap. So… Yeah, I'm 'ere to keep watch. You're kin' of a big deal to the wizards, you know? So the ol' man put me 'ere to keep watch."

Surprised, the boy called the manual. Quickly he looked at his reputation page and looked at the last entry.

"_Mundungos Fletcher 300"_

"_Mr. Fletcher is a character worth of note. As such he has his own entry on the reputation page and cannot be grouped."_

"_Due to your recent endeavors, Mrs. Figg is not a character worth of note anymore, as such she can be grouped as needed."_

'300 points. I didn't even used my fast-talk skill on this one…' It was, after all, understandable. Harry had a +3 reaction with wizards because he was the boy-who-lived, add to that his voice advantage and he got a +5 total reaction. Since a reaction roll was a 3 dice roll plus the modifier it was not hard to get a good reaction roll with what he currently had. 'It could be a lot better tough… Well, let me milk all the information I can from him.'

Also, the bit about Mrs. Figg was not exactly a surprise. Before, she was his contact with the wizard world, now he didn't even know if he would ever see her again. 'I won't group her just now. No point, I don't even know which group she will be part of.'

"Say, why am I such a big deal, and who is the old man?"

* * *

**November 24****th**

It was Saturday afternoon, and Harry was getting ready to leave the Dursley household. The boy was eagerly looking forward to a quest since after his last football game, he spent most of his points buying another ST point. His reasoning for this was his - in his opinion - low endurance. His third game was by far the toughest challenge he had faced on the football field. His latest adversary was much better than his own team, and our hero had to play the same match 3 times until he was finally able to win it.

Little Whinging had won, but Harry was not satisfied with the results. Harry had to play defensively nearly the entire time to cover for his teammate's deficiencies, and in the end he lacked the endurance to both attack and defend on the huge field. The victory of 1-0 was the best he could do with the players available.

Another reason for his lack of unspent points was Mrs. Strode. His girlfriend's mother was a constant source of failed will rolls, and to minimize that, Harry spent 4 points buying another level of Strong Will. As usual, the acquisition of the advantage had a psychological effect on our protagonist but, once again, he could not perceive it.

This change in his demeanor presented itself this Saturday when Harry decided to give another try on the fast-talk rolls to raise his relative's opinion of him. In Harry's defense, the idea was not without merit, since he now had a 15 skill level on fast-talk and a +2 reaction roll thanks to the voice advantage. Doing the math, even with his aunt and uncle's -6 reaction to him, Harry would still roll against an 11 to try to gain a reputation rise, not a bad roll to someone who had the luck advantage and the ability to save-scum.

The real problem was that in the middle of his tirade, Harry became sick with himself. Raising his reputation with fast-talk consisted of saying things that would please the people being influenced. You compliment them, hear their stories and offer input, advise them and, his personal favorite, use humor to make them be more favorable. The same tactic was being used on his uncle, no changes there, the problem was that his uncle, and his aunt, were awful people.

Gossip, boot licking and sick humor. That's all that apparently had any positive effect on their reputation score. To raise its level Harry had to badmouth people, verbally agree with their prejudice, and make cheap humor at other people's expense. In the middle of his sycophantic tirade Harry's newfound strong will didn't agree with this humiliating routine and rebelled. His bad temper fueled a very irate exchange where Harry told his uncle what he thought about the Dursley patriarch. After a huge loss of reputation, the fat man tried to physically discipline our hero, only to receive a punch in the stomach.

Harry had a ST of 10 and as such was a 10 years old boy with the strength of an average adult man. If that was not enough, Harry was above average on his DX score and had the skill of a professional, if somewhat inexperienced, boxer. Harry's HT was a little lower than average, but at the same time, Vernon was hardly an example of a healthy human being.

So the two fought. Vernon was so surprised that his freak of a nephew put a fight, that he just got hit a few times before reacting. Combat surprise was a game mechanic that left someone without action until they passed in an IQ test, with one test each turn. Harry got three punches in before the large man recovered enough to react. Once Vernon was able, he tried to retaliate, but our hero successfully parried his first attack.

In four turns, four punches connected on Vernon's stomach. In real life, a 10 year old would never seriously hurt someone with 4 to 5 times their mass using only their bare fists. They simply lacked momentum, it was pure physics. Game mechanics, however, said otherwise. According to the manual, a punch dealt thrust-2 damage. Harry, at ST 10, had a thrust value of 1d-2. With that stats his punch would cause 1d-4 damage to Vernon. However, the boxing skill give him a bonus of 1 damage for every 5 levels. Considering that Harry's currently boxing skill was 13, his current punch damage would be increased to 1d-2 damage.

1d-2 didn't look like a big deal, right? Wrong. You need to analyze the context. Vernon was not using any kind of armor, nor did he have any kind of damage reduction. Considering that hit points are defined by a person's HT, and that Vernon was an average human being, he had 10 to start with. So when Harry's first punch caused 1 damage, it was not a big deal, however, when the second punch caused 3 damage, followed by a third punch that caused another 2 damage Vernon was in a bad situation. The fourth punch was the most devastating one, causing 4 damage reducing Vernon's hit points to zero.

However, getting someone's hit points to zero doesn't exactly mean that they are dead. Zero hit points meant that the person had to do a HT test, if the test was successful, the person could continue fighting, with a modifier of -2 to all his skills thanks to the injuries, if the person failed on the test it meant unconsciousness.

Harry didn't think about any of that. He just punched, punched, punched again, parried an attack and then punched one more time. After that, Vernon went down.

K.O. Harry wins.

Only when his uncle fell did Harry pay attention to his surroundings. His aunt was screeching with everything she had and Dudley was completely paralysed with his mouth open. Harry was at this moment too surprised with this occurrence to actually do something and just stood there not knowing what to do.

He looked at his hands and then at his unconscious uncle and tried to process what that had really meant. He stood there several seconds just looking. A game turn is the equivalent of a single second so, in under 5 seconds he had punched his uncle unto submission. That was the power of a skilled character, even if just a kid, going against a normal person.

It was not over yet, though. His aunt apparently didn't handle the combat situation very well and decided to do something to avenge her husband. Wielding a knife, she charged at her nephew in the most awkward moment in the history of melee fights.

Maybe in the real world, Petunia had a chance. But on the game world, a knife fight would demand a knife skill. Without training, knife default was DX-4. Petunia had a very, very slim chance to actually hit our protagonist. Not that that stopped her from trying.

She tried stabbing Harry without warning and tried to surprise him. Harry, however, had combat reflexes, and thanks to that advantage he had a +5 modifier on his surprise rolls. So, that meant a tiny chance of getting caught unprepared, which obviously didn't happen. The following punches, however, were once again very accurate and Petunia was down after 5 strikes.

In under 30 seconds, two full grown adults were beaten into unconsciousness. And that included the time it took Petunia to grab a knife and decide to attack her nephew. Dudley just looked at Harry completely stunned before running outside screaming.

In the sudden quietness, the boy finally stopped to think. Leaving the dinning room behind, the boy went to a sofa and sat down. Outside, Little Whinging continued with its routine, like nothing unusual happened. Bringing the manual up, the boy called his character sheet.

There on the right corner of the page, was the only vestige of the fight. His current fatigue value was now a 9, instead of a 10. If he rested for 10 minutes he would recover that fatigue and everything would be good as ever. Exploring a little more, he went to the Relationship and Reputation score. There he could see the consequences a little better, Vernon and Petunia' new value was way down at -900. Dudley was a little higher, but still, a -400 value was really bad.

"_Game Loaded."_

* * *

**November 25****th**

On Sunday Harry found himself walking the streets and going to Dung's house. All that remained from the fight was the memory of it. Other than the fight, the interaction with his uncle served to cement to Harry that there were things that he didn't want to do just for a few points in reputation. It was simply not worth it.

Should he pursue the maximization of reputation stats with everyone he met? Should he invest all points from now on on fast-talk and use this completely overpowered skill to convince everyone to love him? He was certain that the game mechanics would allow that. If he saved and invested 100 points on the fast-talk skill, he could catapult his skill level to really absurd values that would guarantee that he would always get things his way.

'Hey Voldemort, stop being such a bad boy. Come here and talk to me. Let's see what the problem is and work on a solution...' In game mechanics alone, this was completely valid. Harry could have a contest of fast-talk against the target's will to convince them to do things they didn't want to. Maybe a modifier for really outrageous stuff, but he could potentially gain time to discuss, and then use the same fast-talk to raise you-know-who's reputation score. After a few tests, Voldemort would love him and be willing to die for Harry.

So, what was stopping him from going on this path? What was the real downside of the path of the silver-tonged devil? Nothing external, only Harry's own disadvantages. And since our hero was unable to comprehend the extent of his disadvantages' true limitations he moved forward without buying them off. His hero complex easily defined the social approach as evil manipulation, while his bad temper and impulsiveness joined together to form the opinion that it would be much more satisfying to avenge his father by destroying the dark lord.

Harry didn't have little voices in his head influencing how he should think. No, the disadvantages were much more subtle than that. They just made him think that way, changed what he wanted. And as such, he didn't plan on going for the social victory.

That being said, our hero was not beneath using the social approach on other topics. Dung would be an experiment not only in how far he could go with the fast-talk skill, but also how he could exploit the game system to the limit. Decision made, the boy knocked on the wizard's door.

It took time, a lot of time, and a lot of knocking before Fletcher answered. Once the door opened, a red-eyed and rumpled magical low-life appeared looking much worse for wear.

"Holy crap! What happened to you Dung?"

The man was in a very bad shape. One of his eyes was blackened and his lip was parted. His shirt was covered in vomit, blood and other unsavory things. As usual, he smelled like a distillery, but this time Harry was much more concerned than disgusted.

"Deal gone bad. Y'know the works: Win somes, loose somes."

He left the door open and went back inside. The boy followed him, closing the door behind him. Once inside the man went back to the adjacent room and dropped on his vomit stained mattress.

"You need to explain this better to me Dung. What happened?"

The man stood quiet a few moments before answering.

"Needed some galleons. Own some types a lot o' dough, see? Needed to score a li'l bit to pay them for a breathing space. If not, 'ey'll kill me. Also needed to buy food and some whiskey..." The later part was said with a lower voice. "So, got a hint, went there and was a total bust. Couldn't grab anything, got beaten really hard. When went back, the gorillas were not very understan'ing and demanded the money or the goods. Didn't had anything so, was beaten again. 'ey kept e'erything I got too. Now I'm broke. Lost three tooth too."

Harry just stood there, pondering how to act. Dung was a sad case. Sure he was not what you would call a good person, but bringing up his many shortcomings now would be like stepping on an unconscious person's face.

"How much do you owe?"

The beaten man looked at the boy before chuckling. "Too much, chap. Will never get enough to pay it."

The boy looked at him with a very serious expression. 'I can use that.'

"How much? We need some numbers here."

The man closed his eyes and covered them with his forearm before answering. "837 galleons, plus changes. I owe some other guys too. So, 'bout 1200 galleons."

With his brow furrowed, Harry analysed the numbers. "And in pounds, how much is this in pounds?"

The man shrugged before answering. "Dunno. Bout £97 to a galleon. Bout £120,000.00."

The boy whistled. "That is a lot of money."

"Yep. I'm screwed."

Harry looked at him and decided that the moment was there. "You know what Dung? You are a loser." The man just cursed quietly and the boy couldn't exactly made out what he said. Sounded nasty though. "Not only that, but you're a hopeless loser. I can easily see you five years from now dead in a ditch with a knife stuck in your belly. Luckily for you, I'm willing to help."

The man just grunted and turned to face the wall.

"I will help you out. You can pay your debt and earn enough money to buy food, furniture and decent clothes. I will remove the loser from you. All you have to do is work hard and do everything I say."

The man chuckled darkly before answering. "Sure Guv. It'll be peachy! Will get a job in the ministry and all will be fine. Yeah..." After burrowing his face in the mattress, the man continued. "Just shu' up, go away and leave me alone."

The boy smiled quietly and waited a few more moments.

"Are you still 'ere?"

"Yes. I'm waiting you to stop your loser tantrum so we can get work done. Are you ready to listen to how things will work?"

Dung waited a few moments, turned to the boy and gave a long look before finally speaking. "'kay. Shoot. I'm all ears."

"It will work this way. I'll supply the initial capital. We will start our own business. You will work your ass off, do as I say, and I'll take half the profits. Understood?"

Harry had thought long and hard about Dung, and decided that he had a way for the man earn money. Harry didn't need the money, but he understood about pride. If he got his share of the profits in the end Dung would not feel like he owed Harry anything and could live with himself knowing that he was the one responsible for his good fortune.

"What is the scam?"

"No scam. Nothing against the law. We will work with muggle currency, capitalize on the fact that you are a wizard. Are you in?"

Dung looked skeptic. "We can't use magic in front of muggles. And it is a crime to steal from them and..."

"No magic in front of the muggles and no stealing from them. No scams, no schemes, nothing illegal, as I said. You just have to follow my instructions and don't screw up. You'll pay your debt, all of it, in no time." Both man and boy looked at each other for several moments before the younger one pressed on. "Deal?"

"Deal."

Nodding Harry continued. "Okay then. First things first. Take a shower and wear your best, clean, muggle clothes. Remember that it's cold outside. We'll eat something later with the money we earn. If we don't earn anything, you don't eat. We're starting now."

* * *

"So Guv, this is the address. Are you sure we're at the right place?" Dung's smell was not as bad as before, but it was far from what some people would call pleasant. His clothes still looked like they came straight out of a donation box, but at least were somewhat clean. His face, however, still appeared to have been used as a punching bag.

Harry once again checked the address written on the piece of paper. "Yes, that's the place."

After the 'pep' talk, Harry went to his house to grab all the money he saved since the beginning of his gamer life. It was not much, the people of Little Whinging were very cheap and usually didn't pay Harry for the help he provided. Sure, some kind of work, like gardening and dog-walking, were clearly a 'kids job' and not a single adult could justify not paying something for the helpful young man. So, his highly specialized work went unpaid while his simple ones got Harry a little change.

Regardless of this, Harry gathered his £30.00 and a copy of the London Yellow Pages. After a few calls - his relatives were at church and would never know - Harry confirmed that the addresses were open for business, even on a Sunday. After that, the unusual partners got on a bus and traveled to London.

Now, both man and boy were standing right in front of a very shabby looking pawn shop in a very run down neighborhood. The place looked really cheap and dilapidated and on display were things that a sensible person could only describe as junk.

"Yeah, we're at the right place. Come on, let's get inside." Harry opened the door and entered. After shrugging, the man followed the boy inside.

The store was really awful. Dust was everywhere and the 'merchandise' was almost entirelly composed of really shabby and damaged stuff. Old furniture cluttered the space with a lot of used clothing and really old refrigerators. TV sets as old as Mundungos could be seen on the shelves gathering dust. Nothing really stood out and almost all of it could be safely called crap.

"Yes. We hit jackpot here. Look around, try to see if you find something interesting." Not waiting for a response, the boy wandered between the several piles of junk looking for something.

Dung appeared lost. The man didn't really know what he was doing in the store, but had been somewhat convinced by a 10 years old that all of his problems could be solved right here, in this place. Harry, however was very focused on the task at hand and was unable to detect Dung's doubts. That was all irrelevant when, after only 10 minutes the younger of the duo called his partner to the back of the store.

"Here Dung! I found it. Come here and give me a hand." Once the man arrived, Harry pointed at a rug. "We're taking this one. Let me handle the negotiation."

The boy went to talk with the shop owner, a man very similar in complexion, and smell, to Dung. Boy and store owner went on a very vivid debate of the few merits, and many flaws, of the rug while Dung struggled to remove the very heavy piece of it's place.

Really old, half-teared and water damaged, the ancient Persian rug appeared to be just another piece of crap. It was huge and in some days long past may have been a quality piece, but right now it was a hideous piece that no one in their right mind would ever buy. Just glancing at the unrolled fabric you could see the several black marks, evidence that the antique survived a fire, but not without damage.

"... as I said. It is an original antique Persian rug! I bought it on an auction from a very respected hotel! He is a little damaged, for sure, but you cannot possibly offer me so little! If you take it to a rug repairman he could make it good as new with only..."

"Do you think we are idiots? Just look at it! It is damaged beyond repair! No one will ever buy this moldy piece of crap but me! You know that as much as I do! So, take my money and give us the rug so we can..."

"You are offering too little! I can't cover my cost with that! I have a wife and 3 kids to support, you are..."

And the negotiation went on and on. Dung just sat on an old, the store owner would call it antique, chair and watched the spectacle. Harry really knew how to bargain, and the wizard was humbled by how the kid cut the price more with each new sentence. Finally, after 15 very tense minutes, a price was agreed upon. Both man and child shook hands and a grunting Mr. Fletcher was assigned to carry the heavy cargo.

"Now we have to find a quiet alley. Come Dung, I think I saw one when we got off the bus." Quietly, the man followed the boy. He could not imagine what was in the kids mind, but since he was here, not much to do but go ahead.

"Here is perfect. Put it down. Now do your magic. The anti-muggle spell, we don't want trouble with the ministry after all."

Dropping his heavy load on the ground the man drawn his wand and proceeded to do what he was told.

"Okay, no muggle will notice us now. So, what's next?" The man crossed his arms and turned to the boy.

"Haven't you guessed yet? You're going to repair the rug to sell it. Simple as that."

The man was skeptic. "Who will buy this old thing?"

Harry removed his glasses and palmed his face. "Look, just repair it, okay?"

"That thing is 'eavy. It will take a lo' of effort to do it. Are you sure it's worth..."

Interrupting the old man, the annoyed boy retorted. "Just do it. And make it as good as you can."

"Rug Reparo." The man waved his wand over the mentioned piece receiving a golden glow as his answer. "Okay. Don't ask me to do it again for a while, I'm tired. It should be good now."

"Not yet. Now clean it."

The man grunted once more before casting once again. "Rug Scourgify. Done Guv. Your rug is as good as new. All clean and proper. Now what?"

"Why are you acting like that? Can't you see that we just make ourselves a lot of money?" Harry asked the man and waited for an answer.

"What do you mean, made a lot of money? I just cast a few spells on a damn rug!"

Our hero just shook his head before answering. "Okay. I will explain slowly. We bought an old antique rug for a bargain. Sure it was damaged, but at a £20.00 price tag we could not be very demanding, could we? Now, 3 spells later, we have a perfectly restored antique rug. If someone was looking for a rug like this, he would have to pay more than £10,000.00. That's about 100 galleons if you can't do the math."

Dung eyes widened and he took two steps back before answering. "100 GALLEONS ON A FRIGGING RUG? It's not even a flying rug it's just an ordinary muggle thing! How can... How could... Just... Just, how?"

Harry sat on the rug and smiled smugly at the man. "You are a wizard, and as such don't understand muggle economics. This rug is an antique piece. It was made a century ago in Persia or a place like that. Rugs will wear with time, and get damaged by things like weather or in our particular case, a fire. So, after several decades it will become very rare to find a good antique rug. Muggles can't simply repair stuff and keep using it forever. Muggle things break. And when it happens, you need to hire someone to fix it. Some things can be easily fixed, some can't. This rug couldn't, but you used magic to repair it. Are you following?"

As the man nodded, the boy continued. "Since they can't repair it, perfectly preserved antique rugs are very coveted. One like this one would be very, very expensive. In the state it was in before, no one in their right mind would want to buy it. But since you used magic... All we have to do now is sell it."

The man was still flabbergasted but slowly nodded. "Where are we goin' to sell it? Do we return to the pawn shop?"

"No, not at all. We will grab this, you can use magic on it so we can easily transport it by the way, and go to a very respectable antique shop on the better side of London. There we will say that we found it rolled and preserved in my grandmother's basement, or something like that, then we will sell it for as much as we can get."

The man just nodded dumbly.

"Let's go then. The sooner we get done, the sooner we can get back here. I saw a lot of broken stuff on those shelves. I think he bought furniture and other stuff from a burned down luxury hotel at some point. He had another rug and a lot of antique furniture too. If we time it right, we can make a lot of money until closing time."

* * *

**November 30****th**

"_Reputation Degradation off"_

'That will not trouble me anymore...'

Harry woke on this morning with a system message saying that his reputation score with Mrs. Figg lowered by 35 points. Investigating the cause of such status loss our hero found the enabled option of Reputation Degradation. According to it's description if someone or some group stay out of touch with Harry for a month it's score would be lowered by 10% of it's current value. That also worked on the negatives, so a -100 reputation would become a -90 at the end of the month.

Not seeing any benefit of this feature at the present moment, Harry decided to turn it off. He would have loaded a save game from the previous day, but his last one was at the beginning of it and he was unwilling to replay it just to recover the score with someone he was probably not going to see again for a very long time.

That said, Harry reflected about his last week. By Monday, he got a new quest to help Dung pay his debts. Bonus if he could do it until the end of the year. It was doable, but it would require working closely with the wizard and convincing him to not spent his earned money on more booze and gambling. It also would be a lot easier if Harry was not so busy all the time.

As a young boy, Harry had to go every day to school. That took a lot of time with no real benefit for our protagonist. Since he didn't really learn anything from classes, arcade mode rules stated that every progress in any skill or attribute should come from character points so, studying and practicing were utterly useless if a simple quest was not involved. Sure, he was progressing steadily on the academics side of life thanks to the simple quests involved in doing tests and helping Dudley study, but those were more than enough to qualify him as a college student.

Harry also had football practice every Wednesday after classes. The good part about them was that the practice were single quests so the time was definitively not lost. Also on Tuesday and Thursday he had Boxing practice with Mr. Heathcote. Spending any time with the old war veteran couldn't in any circumstance be called a waste of time, specially if he was earning character points and skill points in a useful skill. That was his fixed schedule.

Outside of that, Harry had to pursue two simple quests a day. After the months he spent doing those, he learned which ones were the least time consuming and always went after them first. As such, our hero was a frequent dog walker and errand boy for his uncle, after all going to the market hardly took too long. His aunt's chores, on the other hand, took a huge amount of free time and were hardly worth the small increase in reputation score with his relative.

That said, the time that was left was very precious. Harry liked to spend as much time as possible with Emma and Mr. Heathcote. Dudley was also becoming someone who Harry could get along with easily, now that his reputation score was steadily rising. That said, the time needed to help Dung with his financial problems was turning out to be very scarce.

Part of it was solved when he convinced his aunt to leave him out of his chores so he could do a "part-time job" working for Mr. Fletcher. It was not an easy fast-talk roll, but modifiers were moot when you can just reload and try again. Vernon and Petunia now thought that Harry's new job was important to "build character".

So, on his new schedule, Harry went thrice a week with Dung to London to conduct some business. On his first day alone, he and the grown up wizard made over £5,000.00 each just with the leftovers from the hotel fire. The euphoric wizard wanted to go on a spending extravaganza, but Harry convinced him that what he needed was furniture, clothes and groceries.

Once the duo arrived at a furniture store, neither could choose anything from the wide selection. Since Harry was unwilling to spend his hard earned character points on an interior designer skill, they decided to hire a professional and Dung was temporarily relocated to a hotel. A similar thing happened at the clothes store, but at least there the vendor was wiling to help the man.

On his morning Harry went to his character screen and looked at his total money, it was much easier to do that than to count his notes, and was very happy at the £18,767.00. That was not bad for 4 days work, and he could easily see Dung paying his debts in no time, if Harry could stop him from spending all he earned on woman and drinks.

According with his calculations Dung should have at the moment about £2.000,00. He received the same as Harry, but he had to give the interior designer some money in advance and clothes aren't exactly free. Also the hotel required a deposit and would keep costing money until he left. Nevertheless, the wizard was in a much better situation now than he was before meeting our young hero.

Reflecting on the monetary situation, Harry decided that he liked the current outcome of his plans. Sure, he could have bought a winning lottery ticket, with his save game feature it would be quite simple to see the results of the game, load, and bet on the winning numbers. But this way he had a chance to interact with Fletcher and slowly, with frequent fast-talk checks, change the man's way of thinking and raise his reputation score.

Reaffirmed on his position, Harry finally came out of his cupboard. Today was a promising day. He had pondered for a long time and decided to accept the invitation to another sleep-over at the Strode's residence. He needed to have a long talk with Emma after all.

* * *

"_Character: Harry Potter Age: 10 Total Points: 235.5 Unspent: 6.5_

_ST: 10 (30) Fatigue: (9) 9 Parry: 7_

_DX: 12 (30) Hit Points: (9) 9 Block: -_

_IQ: 11 (30) Magic Points: (30) 30 Dodge: 5_

_HT: 9 (20) Mov. Speed 5.25 (6.375) _

_Damage: Thrust: 1d-2 Swing: 1d-1_

_Advantages: (+83) _

_Magic Aptitude +3 +0*_

_Reputation: The-boy-who-lived +3 (hero, Magical society, All the time) +0*_

_Alertness 2 +10_

_Combat Reflexes +15_

_Danger Sense +15_

_High Pain Threshold +10_

_Luck +15_

_Strong Will +2 +8_

_Voice +10_

_Disadvantages: (-65) _

_10 years old (-3 ST, -1 DX, -2 IQ, -3 HT) -0*_

_Curse Scar -0*_

_Enemy: The Dark Lord -0*_

_Reputation -2 (delinquent, Little Whinging, All the time) -5_

_Bad Sight -10_

_Skinny -5_

_Bad Temper -10_

_Impulsiveness -10_

_Lecherousness -15_

_Sense of duty (Hero Complex) -10_

_Skills:_

_Animal Handling (M/H) 7.5 12_

_Botany (M/H) 2 10_

_Boxing (P/A) 7 13_

_Brawling (P/E) 1 12_

_Carpentry (M/E) 3.5 12_

_Chemistry (M/H) 2 10_

_Climbing (P/A) 2.5 12_

_Cooking (M/E) 13.5 16_

_Ecology (M/H) 3 10_

_Fast-talk (M/A) 6.5 15 (+2 due to voice)_

_Gardening (M/E) 4.5 13_

_History (M/H) 2 10_

_Literature (M/H) 2 10_

_Mathematics (M/H) 2.5 10_

_Mechanic (M/A) 2.5 11_

_Merchant (M/A) 8.5 14_

_Painting (P/E) 2.5 13 _

_Physics (M/H) 2 10_

_Research (M/A) 7 13_

_Running (P/H) 5 9 (based on HT)_

_Savoir-Faire (M/E) 0.5 12 (+2 due to voice)_

_Sex Appeal (M/A) 2 11 (based on HT, +2 due to voice)_

_Sport: Football (P/A) 6.5 13_

_Sports: Rugby (P/A) 1 11_

_Stealth (P/A) 3 12_

_Woodworking (P/A) 5 13_

_Zoology (M/H) 2.5 10_

_Inventory:_

_Used winter clothes. 1Kg 1 DR, 0 PD._

_Mended Glasses. 0kg._

_0 Galleons_

18,767.00_ Pounds"_

Final Note: Special thanks to IDK98390, he was the idea behind the last chapter "Vernon for Vice-president" quest. I did him an injustice by not mentioning that before. (I took a lot of time to update and them rushed things up...) I'm still going to use other of his ideas on the future so I'm trying to stay on his good side.

I'm also using the Galleon to Pound conversion as mentioned on the chapter. I don't like the canon one and don't think a lot of people will care. Next chapter should cover a longer time period, at least I hope so. We are getting closer to Hogwarts time, I just ask that you guys hang on a little longer.


End file.
